A New Normal
by RoseStone27140
Summary: AU, Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus must adjust to life after Voldemort's defeat.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorite, or followed "The Trial of Peter Pettigrew"! This story is going to be a bit different than my other two stories. This will be more like a series of one-shots instead of continuous chapters. These one-shots will cover the time in between the fall of Voldemort and Harry's time at Hogwarts. Thanks for reading!

I own nothing.

Chapter 1: The Morning After

The first thing that James noticed when he woke up was his pounding head. Nausea hit him as he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. He realized then that his head wasn't the only part of his body that hurt; in fact, there were parts of his body that hurt that he hadn't expected to.

He suddenly regretted going out to the Muggle pub the night before with his friends. He hadn't had that much to drink in a very long time. It was Sirius' fault, really. Sirius had always been the drinker of the Marauders. And he had been the one to suggest going to the pub in the first place.

James wasn't quite sure what all they had done the night before. He remembered toasting his and Lily's new house. And Sirius' new girlfriend. And Remus' new job. And after he announced that Lily was pregnant again, they had toasted that. But about halfway through their night at the pub, James' memory became incredibly hazy.

He got out of his bed, hoping to go downstairs to get a hangover potion when he noticed the white bandage taped to a certain part of his body. And he froze.

He had never wanted a tattoo. He had gone with Sirius and Remus when they had gotten tattoos the summer after their seventh year, and it had not looked pleasant to him. In fact, it had looked incredibly painful. But he recognized the white bandage on his body as being the same as the ones that had covered his friends' tattoos. And a feeling of dread filled him.

_No. I didn't get a drunken tattoo. I couldn't have. Surely I didn't._

But he realized that the area underneath the bandage was sore, and he knew that he had.

_Crap! Lily's going to kill me. I'm supposed to be a responsible adult with a baby and another on the way. I'm not supposed to be getting drunken tattoos!_

James ran his hands through his hair. Quickly he put on his clothes and shoes from the night before and ran down the stairs. He had to see Sirius. Maybe he could offer some insight into what had happened the night before.

He had expected to find Sirius at his own home, but instead, he found him passed out on his living room floor. It wasn't the first time that Sirius had stayed over at the Potters' house after a night of drinking. James didn't see Remus, but judging by the pillow and blanket on the couch, he guessed that the werewolf had spent the night as well.

James snorted before going over to his best friend's side. He shook his shoulder and called his name, but past experience had taught him that this rarely worked. So, taking his wand out of his pocket (he was quite surprised that it was still there), he took a step back and shot a stream of water at his friend.

Sirius jumped awake and cursed. "What the h-"

"Good morning to you too, sunshine," James said, smirking.

"You'd better have a real good reason for waking me up, Prongs." Sirius sent his death glare at him, but James just rolled his eyes.

"I do have a good reason, actually," he said. "I was hoping you could clarify for me what exactly happened last night."

Sirius pulled himself onto the couch and sat, his forehead crinkled in thought. "Nope. Don't think I can help you out there, Prongsie. Why?"

James cleared his throat before checking to make sure the door to the room was closed. Then, not meeting his friend's eye, he showed him the bandage.

Sirius immediately burst out laughing. He clutched his stomach, and even though James was rather annoyed at the moment and his head still pounded from the hangover, he chuckled.

"What do you want to bet you have a new one too?" James asked, and Sirius sobered. He moved his clothes around. James started laughing when an identical white bandage was visible. It was in the same spot as his own bandage, and he knew that they had gotten the same tattoo.

"I know we're brothers and all that, Prongs, mate, but I'm not really one for matching tattoos," Sirius joked.

The door to the room opened and James started, afraid that it was his wife. H didn't want to see her until he had a very good explanation as to why he'd gotten a tattoo, and he didn't think that "Sorry, darling, but I was very drunk" was going to cut it.

But it wasn't Lily; it was Remus. Who stood just inside the door, smirking.

"I see you found your souvenirs from last night," Remus said with a glint of humor in his eyes.

"Let me guess, you didn't get one?" Sirius asked.

Remus laughed. "No. Definitely not. Unlike you two, I was relatively sober last night, and I refrained from getting a tattoo matching yours."

James didn't think it was as funny as Remus seemed to. "If you were relatively sober, then why in Merlin's name did you not stop us from doing this?" He gestured towards the bandage.

Remus scowled at him. "I did try, but you punched me."

James' eyes opened wide. He could see now that Remus was sporting a black eye, and guilt shot through him. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Remus waved his hand to stop him.

"At least you didn't puke on me, like some people." This time the scowl was shot at Sirius, who simply smiled.

Remus shook his head. James sank down onto the couch, and Remus sat down on Sirius' other side.

"Moony?"

"Yeah, Prongs?"

"What's the tattoo of?" James was almost afraid to know the answer. He hoped that he had been the one to choose the tattoo. Even drunk, he was confident in his ability to choose something fairly reasonable. However, if Sirius had chosen the tattoo, it was probably something either incredibly stupid or highly inappropriate. The tattoos that Sirius had gotten in the past were fine, but they had been chosen when Sirius had been completely sober. James was worried about what was now on his body.

Remus laughed. "You mean you haven't looked at them yet?"

James shook his head while Sirius answered. "I just woke up. Well, Prongs just woke me up, specifically. That's why I'm covered in water. He thought it'd be a good idea to spray water at me." Sirius scowled.

"Well, you won't wake up any other way. Besides, aren't you a wizard? There's this little thing called 'a drying charm' that you could use."

"Oh yeah," Sirius said, pulling out his wand and drying himself.

James rolled his eyes. "Anyway… the tattoos, Moony?"

"They're of our prints," Remus said. He continued when he saw the confused looks on Sirius' and James' faces. "I mean, Moony's, Padfoot's, and Prongs' prints."

James' mouth dropped open. His first tattoo and he got hoof and paw prints?  
"Is it a Muggle tattoo or magical?" Sirius asked.

"Magical."

"So… let me get this straight. Prongs and I got matching tattoos… of our prints running around on our…" Sirius trailed off before he suddenly stood.

"Padfoot, what are you doing?" James asked. He was growing increasingly concerned as Sirius began to remove clothing.

"I don't believe Moony. We wouldn't be that stupid. But the only way to find out for sure is to look." Sirius paused before removing the bandage. "Here goes nothing."

James stared at his friend's body. With dread, he saw that Remus had not been lying. Three sets of hoof and paw prints were chasing each other across Sirius'…

"Prongs?"

"Yeah, Pads… Um, Moony was telling the truth. We really were that stupid."

James looked over to Remus, who was trying (and failing) to contain his laughter. Suddenly, the werewolf snorted and soon all of the Marauders were laughing.

"Sirius! What are you doing?!" The laughter ended abruptly at the sound of Lily's voice. She was standing in the doorway, staring at Sirius. Her face was rapidly turning as red as her hair.

"Morning, Evans!" Sirius exclaimed, never one to be embarrassed.

Lily quickly diverted her attention to James. "What is going on here?"  
James swallowed hard. He wasn't prepared to face his wife. "N-nothing, love. Just- well-"

Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously before moving to join James on the couch. When she saw what James had been looking at seconds before, she burst out laughing.

"You… you can't be serious?! You got a tattoo of your animal prints… on your bum?!" Lily was clutching her side in laughter, and James nervously chuckled along with her.

_Anytime now, she'll realize that I have one too. Anytime. In 3… 2… 1…_

Right on cue, Lily stopped laughing and turned to stare at James. "Please, please tell me that this wasn't something that you and Sirius did together. Please, James?"  
James shrugged sheepishly, and Lily's mouth dropped opened.

"We were drunk?" James said, wishing that he had something better to say.

"Is it the exact same tattoo? In the same place?" Lily asked.

James could feel his cheeks reddening. While Sirius could stand in front of his best friend's wife with his pants around his ankles and not blush, James had a lower tolerance for embarrassment.

"Um..."

"Yes, it is," Remus piped up.

"And what about you?" Lily asked, turning on Remus.

He chuckled. "I don't have one, Lils. I was more sober than they were. And before you ask, I did try to stop them. But then James punched me and I decided to sit back and let them do what they wanted."

"And laugh at them the next morning?" Lily asked, her eyebrow raised.

Remus smirked. "Exactly."

James saw the telltale twitch of her mouth before Lily started laughing again.

"Are you angry?" James asked cautiously.

She shook her head. "No. I guess I'm not. There's nothing we can do about it now, anyway."

James kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, love. And I promise that I will never be so stupid ever again."

Lily cupped James' face with her hands. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Potter."

James didn't really appreciate the way his friends laughed at that. He rolled his eyes as Lily started walking towards the door.

"I came to tell you that breakfast is ready. James? Can you get Harry?"

"Of course."

"And Sirius?"

"Yes?"

"Pull up your pants, please."

Sirius laughed and obeyed. Once he was fully clothed, he sank back down onto the couch. "That's wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

James rolled his eyes but had to agree with his friend.


	2. Chapter 2: A New Addition

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following this story!

Standard disclaimer applies.

Considering the fact that they had been in the middle of a war, Lily Potter's first pregnancy had been easy. She'd had morning sickness, of course, but after that had passed, she had very few issues. She had stopped running headlong into battles with Death Eaters, but she had not been completely housebound either. She had been on her feet until she had gone into labor.

Her second pregnancy, however, had been very different. She had been restricted to bed rest for the final month of her pregnancy, which bothered her to no end. She had been extremely cranky. She hadn't been able to take care of the house or Harry or work or do anything she was used to doing. All of her frustration had been focused onto one person, the cause of all this agony: James.

James, in turn, had been driving Sirius crazy. Whenever tension in the Potter house became too unbearable, James would meet up with Sirius. He would rant and rave and then swear Sirius to secrecy about whatever he had said.

Needless to say, in the past month, Sirius had learned more about Lily than he had ever wanted to know. He was incredibly glad that she had gone into labor, even if he and Remus had been sitting in the waiting room at St. Mungo's for the past seven hours.

"Padfoo', tell me story?" Harry asked, looking up at Sirius with those sweet green eyes that always melted his heart.

"Sure, little man," Sirius said. "Once upon a time, there was a git with a gigantic head-"

"Padfoot," Remus cautioned.

"And this git with a gigantic head fell in love with a girl who was way out of his league."

"Padfoot! Prongs would not appreciate this story."

"It'll be fine, Moony. Harry won't tell, will he?"

Harry shook his head, his smile huge.

"See, Moony? Prongs will never know," Sirius said. He opened his mouth to continue the story when he heard his name being called. He looked up and saw a blond woman in healer robes standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, if you will come with me, please," the healer said.

Sirius, holding Harry, and Remus stood and followed her.

"My name is Lydia Derth, and I am Mrs. Potter's healer," she said.

"Is that Ms. Derth or Mrs. Derth?" Sirius asked. He hadn't met Lily's healer before, but, Merlin, she was beautiful. She had shoulder-length dark blond hair and deep blue eyes. Freckles were scattered across her nose and her cheeks, giving her a youthful appearance, even though Sirius guessed she was a bit older than he was.

She paused for a second, eyeing Sirius. "It's Healer Derth, Mr. Black." With that, she turned back and continued down the hallway.

Sirius was taken aback for a second, but he quickly recovered and put on his most charming smile. "I was only asking, _Healer_ Derth, because I was wondering if you had a husband who would be mad at me for asking you out for a drink."

Again, Healer Derth paused and looked at him. "I was well aware of your intentions, Mr. Black. Unfortunately, for you at least, I have no desire to do anything with you."

Remus tried to cover a snort with his hand but failed. Sirius glared at him, trying to hide his damaged pride. Despite common belief, he had never been a player; he had never dated an endless string of girls. But he had never had a woman reject him so pointedly before.

"Oh, surely you don't mean that, Healer Derth," Sirius said.

"Indeed, Mr. Black, I do, and considering where we are, I would think that you would be a bit more concerned about Mrs. Potter."

The healer's words sobered Sirius immediately.

"Of course. How is Lily? The baby?"

"It was a difficult delivery; however, both the baby and Mrs. Potter are doing well. They are through this door," Healer Derth said, pushing open a door to reveal a room with a series of beds. Sirius could see James leaning over the bed closest to the window. His attempts to win over the healer were momentarily driven from his head as she left the room.

"Daddy!" Harry called out, and James turned with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, mate," James said, coming and taking his son into his arms. "Are you ready to meet your little brother?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically. All of the Marauders and Lily had been working to prepare the almost two-year-old for the prospect of a new baby. At first, he had seemed indifferent, but now he looked excited.

"All right. Let's go see Mummy, then," James smiled at the other Marauders before turning with Harry to go to Lily's bed.

"I don't think you'll get anywhere with Healer Derth, mate," Remus whispered. He and Sirius stood by the doors, giving the Potters some privacy.

Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend. "She'll come around. Besides, what do you know? When was the last time you even went out on a date, Moony?"

He knew that he had crossed a line the second the words left his mouth. Dating had always been a sensitive topic with the werewolf. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Remus waved it away.

"It's fine, Padfoot," Remus said, sighing.

Sirius didn't know what to say, but it didn't matter because James suddenly appeared and clapped Remus on the shoulder.

"You ready to meet your godson, Moony?"

Remus smiled brightly and nodded, and they followed James over to the bed by the window.

When the Potters had first asked Remus to be the godfather of their second child, the werewolf had been hesitant. Sirius had never really known why. Remus was wonderful with Harry, but he also had so many buried insecurities. Sirius would forget about them for a while because Remus would act confident and like himself, but then something would happen, and he would get a closed-off look on his face, like he was trying to protect himself from the world. Sirius and James hated when he did that, and they had been trying to break him of the habit.

So, while Remus was obviously excited about meeting the newest Potter, as he drew closer to the bed, he began looking less and less sure.

"Hey, Lils. How are you?" Sirius asked, bending down to kiss her cheek.

Lily had looked better. She was pale and sweaty, and her hair was coming out of the bun on top of her head. But her eyes were glowing, and she smiled brightly at them.

"I'm wonderful, Sirius," Lily said. "Boys, I would like you to meet our new son, Julian Charles Potter. Julian, this is your Uncle Remus and your Uncle Sirius."

Harry had always been a miniature James in his looks, but Julian looked more like Lily. He had her red hair and almond-shaped eyes.

"My new brother!" Harry exclaimed loudly, and his new brother startled awake and began to cry.

"Shhh, Harry, we have to be quiet when Julian's sleeping," James said, bending down and putting his finger over his lip. Harry nodded and mimicked his father.

Lily rocked Julian until his cries quieted and looked at Remus.

"Ready to hold your godson?"

Sirius could not remember a time when Remus had looked as scared as he did now. He looked as though Lily were trying to hand him a manticore instead of a baby.

"I- I don't- I think I'd better wait, Lily. I mean-"

"No, Remus John," Lily said, glaring at the man. "You are his godfather. You are going to hold him."

"You've done fine with Harry, Moony," James said.

"Well, yes, but I didn't hold Harry until he was older. At least three months old. I've never held a newborn before! What if I scratch him or something?"

"Usually people worry about dropping the baby, mate," Sirius said, laughing. But he stopped when Remus glared at him. He understood his friend's concern. Any wound from a werewolf that broke the skin would scar; they had found that out the hard way. But Remus was the most careful person that Sirius knew. He wouldn't hurt the baby.

"If Sirius held Harry without breaking him, I am completely confident in your ability to hold Julian without hurting him, Remus," Lily said with a smirk towards Sirius.

"Hey! That's uncalled for!" Sirius exclaimed. But he was glad to see Remus give in and step to take the baby.

Anybody looking could tell that Remus had never held a newborn before. He wasn't holding the baby improperly, but his nervous face gave it away. After a few seconds, however, a smile grew on Remus' face.

"See? Nothing to worry about," Lily said, only to have Julian start crying again a second later. Remus looked panicked and quickly gave the baby back to Lily.

"Hey, Lils?" Sirius asked after she had calmed the baby down.

"Yes, Sirius?"

"Is your healer single?"

James started laughing, and Lily looked up, scandalized.

"Were you hitting on her, Sirius Orion?"

Sirius shrugged. "She's pretty. I like pretty women. What's wrong with that?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, she's single, Sirius, but I don't think that it would work out between you two."

"Neither does she, apparently," Remus said. He explained what happened in the hallway, and James and Lily laughed.

"I don't know why you are all finding this so funny!" Sirius exclaimed, sounding more indignant than he actually felt.

"Well," Remus began, "Personally, this makes me think of a conversation we had in fifth year about how no woman could resist your charm."

"_No _woman?"

"Except for you, Mrs. Potter. You've always been destined for Prongs," Sirius said, winking at Lily. He remembered the conversation that Remus was referring to, but that was not what he wanted to talk about. "Back to the point, why wouldn't it work out?"

"Because she remembers you from Hogwarts," Lily said. Harry had obviously grown weary of the adults' conversation, and he crawled up to look at his brother again.

"Really? I don't remember her."

"She was two years above us. And in Slytherin."

"What?!" James shouted. "A _Slytherin_ delivered my baby?!"

James' face became contrite as Lily glared at him. "_Your_ baby, James?"

"Our baby. I meant, our baby. And obviously, you did most- all of the work, love."

Sirius chuckled at his friend. James could face Voldemort and not back down, but when his wife was angry, he turned into a blubbering fool. Of course, an angry Lily Potter was indeed something to be scared of.

"Yes, James, a Slytherin delivered our baby. And that Slytherin just so happens to be a very kind and lovely woman," Lily stated. She then turned to Sirius. "But she does remember how you acted towards Slytherins at Hogwarts, Sirius, so I doubt that she would want to go out with you."

Sirius thought for a moment. At school, he had dated from all of the houses but Slytherin. It had started out as a rebellion against his parents; they had wanted him to find a nice Slytherin girl to settle down with. But as time progressed, he found himself disliking Slytherins in general because so many of them stood for everything that he did not believe in. But this healer did not come across as someone who bought into blood purity. She had obviously been kind to Lily, a Muggleborn, so she could not be too bad. Besides, what would one drink hurt?

"I'll just have to prove to her that I've changed," Sirius said, making up his mind.

"Have you changed, Padfoot?" James asked, eyeing him with a smile.

"Not really. But she doesn't have to know that," Sirius said, smirking.

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed. "If she said that she doesn't want to go out with you, you need to respect that."

"Oh, come on, Lily. She just _thinks _she doesn't want to go out with me. But I'm sure that she actually does."

"Merlin, your head is so big that it's a wonder you can fit through doorways."

Sirius laughed at that. "Sometimes it takes some maneuvering, but I always manage."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sirius, honestly, leave the poor woman alone. She has already had to deal with James' insanity today. She doesn't need his evil twin to make her life miserable too."

"Hey! I was not insane!"

"Love, you kept asking for ice chips. Every five minutes. When you are a wizard and can make your own ice. And I didn't need ice chips; they were for you."

James' face grew red as Sirius and Remus laughed. He opened his mouth to respond when Healer Derth returned.

"All right," she said, smiling at Lily, who now held her two sleeping children, "I think that's enough excitement for one day. Mrs. Potter needs her rest. Mr. Potter, you may, of course, stay, but I would ask that Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin take Harry and leave."

Lily kissed Harry's head. Then, James bent over, picked Harry up, and hugged him before handing him off to Sirius. Sirius and Remus said their good-byes to the Potters before following Healer Derth out of the room.

"Healer Derth-"

"No, Mr. Black."

"How do you know what I was going to ask?"

"You are simply that predictable, and the answer is no."

"But-"

"No, Mr. Black."

"But what about-"

"Good-bye, Mr. Black."

With that, Healer Derth spun on her heel, leaving Sirius and Remus standing in the waiting room.

Sirius shot a bewildered look at Remus, who was trying not to laugh. "What…? What just happened?"

"I think she was able to resist your charm, Padfoot," Remus said, his smile wide.

If it had been anyone besides one of the other Marauders, Sirius would have hexed him for finding the situation funny. But it was Remus.

Sirius thought about going after the healer and trying to persuade her to change her mind. He had never been one to back down from a challenge. But then Harry shifted sleepily in his arms and buried his face in Sirius' neck. And Sirius knew that now was not the time bug the healer.

"Come on, Moony," Sirius said. "Let's get Harry home."


	3. Chapter 3: Prejudice

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Standard disclaimer applies.

The full moon from two days ago was wreaking havoc on Remus' joints. It hadn't been an extremely difficult transformation, but it was taking him longer than usual to get back to normal. It wasn't helping that his job required movement.

For the past four months, Remus had been working at a magical bookstore. Usually, he loved it. It was in a quiet seaside village, and throughout the day, he inhaled the smell of the ocean and books. There were rarely many customers, so Remus was able to shelve and organize the books at his own pace.

He worked alone. Remus had opened the store that morning. His boss, Mr. Cronby, was not supposed to come in until mid-afternoon.

So Remus was surprised when he saw Mr. Cronby coming through the door from the storeroom.

"Sir, what-"

"How dare you?" The older man's face was colored dark red, and his fists were clenched.

Years of experience had prepared Remus for what was about to happen, but he still dreaded it.

"Mr. Cronby-"

"Get out of my store."

"Of course, sir. Let me just-"

"Now! Get out of my store now!"

Remus knew that the best thing to do would just be to leave. But he had not received his last paycheck, and he needed the money. When he made his request, Mr. Cronby's face darkened even more.

"Your paycheck? You think that I would give any more money to someone like you? You should be grateful that I'm not calling the Aurors to arrest you for what you have done. Pretending to be normal. Pretending not to be a vile monster. If you don't get out of my store this moment, then I can guarantee you that you will greatly regret it."

To emphasize his point, Mr. Cronby whipped out his wand and shot a spell at him. Remus immediately felt the painful sensation of a Stinging Hex connecting with his chest. He stumbled backward and out the door, glad that he had kept his wand in his pocket while working.

He apparated back to his apartment and went quickly inside. He collapsed onto the couch and buried his head in his hands. His apartment was not large or fancy. In fact, other than the loo, it was one room. He had very little furniture, just a small dining set, an armchair, and a couch that doubled as his bed. It wasn't much, but it was all that he could afford.

But now he worried that he couldn't afford even this. He had been stretching himself financially as it was. Now that he was once again out of a job, he feared that he would lose his apartment.

Despair threatened to consume him. No matter how many times he was fired, the embarrassment still shot through him. He tried so hard to impress his employers, to dispel the negative image that people had in their heads of people like him. But time and time again, it didn't matter what he did, how hard he worked, or anything else. Others still only looked at him and saw his condition. It was tempting, so tempting, to withdraw into himself and give up.

_Are you a Marauder or what? _James' voice filled his mind. It was one of James' favorite things to say, his favorite way to encourage the more reluctant Marauder to do something outside of his comfort zone. It usually worked in the past.

And it worked now. Remus sat up straight. Marauders never gave up. His resolve bolstered, he stood up, grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, and sat at the kitchen table. On the top half of the parchment, he began to list all of the places that he could look for work, and on the bottom half, he began to list ways to save money. He could try to find a cheaper apartment, and he could sell some of his possessions. He didn't really need his dining set, did he? It wasn't like he ever entertained anybody.

So consumed was he that he barely noticed the Floo fire roaring to life until he heard James calling his name.

"You were supposed to be here half an hour ago. Everything all right?" James asked.

Remus looked at the clock and realized that James was right. "Sorry, I lost track of time. I'll be right over." James smiled before pulling his head out of the fire.

Remus Flooed over to James' house, straightening his robes after landing in his friends' sitting room. He followed the voices that he heard until he came to the kitchen.

"Uncle Moony!" Julian yelled, and the two-year-old ran over to Remus and threw his arms around him.

Remus grimaced as the boy hit his chest, reminding him that he had done nothing to heal the Stinging Hex. He hoped that no one had seen his face. But that hope was short-lived.

"Harry, why don't you take Julian into the other room and play until dinner' ready?" Lily asked, giving Remus a scrutinizing look. She ushered the boys out of the kitchen as soon as Remus had set Julian down.

"Hey, Moony, how are you?" Sirius asked. He and James were sitting at the kitchen table, mugs of tea in front of them.

Remus sat down next to him and smiled slightly. "I'm doing well."

"Really? Then why did you look like you were in pain when you picked Julian up?" Lily asked, her hands on her hips.

The last thing Remus wanted to do was tell his friends what had happened. He didn't want to share his embarrassment, but even more than that, he knew that they, James and Sirius especially, would be furious on his behalf.

"I'm fine, Lily. My shoulder's just a bit sore. But it's nothing to worry about." Remus gave her a reassuring smile, but she had always been able to see through his lies.

"Your shoulder? I can work on that for you." She smiled sweetly as she stepped around to massage his shoulder, but he could tell that she didn't believe him. The massage actually felt quite good until she managed to touch his upper chest. He hissed in pain, and Lily stopped.

"What's wrong, Moony?" James asked, worried. "I thought we healed everything after the full moon."

"Noth-"

"Don't you dare say 'nothing,' Remus. Obviously it's something or else you wouldn't be in pain." Lily looked at him for a moment. "Take off your shirt."

Remus' eyes went wide. "Pardon me?"

Sirius laughed. "It seems that Mrs. Potter wants to see your body, Moony."

"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus and James said simultaneously.

"Oh, stop, Sirius. And Remus, I mean it. Take off your shirt."

"Lily, really, this isn't necessary."

In the blink of an eye, Remus was staring down the wrong end of Lily's wand. He knew then that she meant business. And he also knew that he'd have no choice but to obey. While he had never been on the receiving end of one of her hexes, he had seen her use them against James and Sirius enough to know that he wanted to avoid them at all costs.

"Take. Your. Shirt. Off. Now," Lily said, a dangerous glint to her eye.

Remus sighed before slowly unbuttoning his shirt. He knew instinctively that Lily wasn't going to relent. He heard her gasp and looked down at his exposed chest. Red welts covered the left side of his chest. It looked much worse than it felt.

"Moony… what happened?" James asked. He and Sirius were staring at him in worry.

"Would you believe me if I said 'nothing'?" Remus tried to joke.

"No." The three other adults said as one.

Lily summoned a jar of ointment from the pantry and opened it. She began to spread the ointment on the welts, and Remus let out another hiss of discomfort. Lily repeated James' question.

Remus shifted uncomfortably. "I- I was fired today."

"Fired? And that explains the Stinging Hex how?" Sirius asked, but as he asked the question, he seemed to realize the answer. "Your boss did this to you?"

"My former boss, actually," Remus said. His eyes flew up as James and Sirius quickly rose from the table. "No. Sit down."

"Why should we?" Sirius exclaimed. "That bigoted moron can't just go around hexing people!"

"It was my fault."

"How?"  
"I didn't tell him about my condition."

"So?"

"So… so I didn't give him the option of whether to hire a werewolf," Remus said. Silence momentarily fell on the room, and he was anxious to break it. "He didn't know when he hired me. He thought he was hiring someone who was normal, not a-"

"If you say 'monster,' _I _will hex you," Sirius threatened.

Remus smiled slightly. "Even though that's what I am."

The other three adults did not take that well.

"Please, stop," he said, his voice rising to be heard above the others' voices. "It doesn't matter either way. The fact is that I am now unemployed. Once again."

Lily pulled back, having finished spreading the ointment.

"It does matter," she said quietly. "It matters because you are amazing, and your condition has no influence on your ability to work in that store. It matters because nothing gives him the right to do this to you."

Remus looked into her eyes and saw the sincerity there. It was hard not to be positive around Lily. She always managed to see the gleam of light in a situation. But he couldn't help but find her a bit naïve, even after all she'd been through.

"Lily, you don't understand," he said, reaching to button up his shirt.

"Don't I? Ever since I started Hogwarts, people have been judging me based on my blood status. It didn't matter to some people how gifted of a witch I was; all that mattered is that my parents were Muggle. A dark wizard wanted to completely obliterate me and everyone else like me. And it's not fair. My blood status should not affect how I'm treated." Lily bent over so that her face was level with his. "I know that your life has been hard, Remus, so hard. But you have done nothing to deserve this treatment. So don't let people's actions convince you any differently."

"Don't listen to jerks like that, Moony," James said.

"Yeah, if they can't see how amazing you are, then it's their loss," Sirius added.

He smiled at their words, even though he still resisted believing them. He had spent most of his life thinking that he was different, that he was deserving of less than everybody else. Despite what his friends said, he still felt wholly inadequate. But some of the despair had dissipated.

"Thanks," he said simply.

"What are you going to do now, Moony?" James asked, and the tension in the room lifted a bit.

"I'll try to find work. I might need to find a new place to live, somewhere cheaper."

He saw the skeptical look James and Lily shared. His apartment was the cheapest place that he had found the last time he had had to move. He wasn't sure how he would find somewhere he could afford.

"Hey, I have an idea," Sirius said, sitting up straight. "Why don't you move into my place? I have an extra bedroom and loo."

"I can barely pay rent as it is, Padfoot. I couldn't afford to move in with you," Remus said, hating to admit that.

"You wouldn't have to pay me rent."

"I'm not taking charity, Sirius," Remus said strongly.

Sirius, James, and Lily all had well-paying jobs. His fellow Marauders were Aurors, and Lily worked for a potions journal testing experimental potions. Every time he lost his job, they would offer to help him financially, and every time, he would refuse. As an adult, he felt as though he needed to take care of himself. He didn't want to rely on anyone else.

"It wouldn't be charity, mate," Sirius responded. "You could actually help me out."

"How? By picking up after you? I'm not a house elf." Remus could feel his anger rising. He knew it was irrational, really, but around the full moon, he had a harder time controlling himself.

"That's not what I meant!" Sirius was becoming angry as well.

"Calm down, both of you," James said. "Moony, I don't think Padfoot meant that. And Padfoot, why don't you say what you actually meant. And quickly?"

"I wouldn't expect you to act like my house elf, Moony," Sirius said after taking a deep breath. "But listen, while you are looking for a job, if you could cook for us both, then I'd consider us even. You know I can't cook to save my life."

Remus chuckled. Every time Sirius had attempted to cook, it had ended with food that was burnt to a crisp and not the least bit edible. He thought about Sirius' proposition for a moment.

Sirius' apartment was much nicer than his own. And he missed the camaraderie that came with having a roommate.

"It wouldn't be bad, Moony," James said. "It'd be like you were back at Hogwarts. Only now you wouldn't have to listen to him snore. Of course, you may have to deal with him bringing lady friends back."

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed. "Not fair! What about Moony, huh? What if he brings back lady friends?"

"Oh sure," Remus said sarcastically, "because an unemployed, poor werewolf is the perfect example of someone women want to go home with."

"Well, you don't have to introduce yourself like that," Sirius said, chuckling.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Actually, Remus, you would be doing James and me a favor. Sirius is over here _all_ the time. It would be nice to have some time to ourselves." Lily smirked at Sirius as he protested.

Remus laughed. "All right, all right. I'll think about it."

Sirius smiled in triumph because, really, they all knew that Remus would cave eventually. On one hand, Remus hated how his friends always managed to persuade him to agree with them. But on the other hand, he was incredibly grateful to have people in his life who cared about him enough to try.


	4. Chapter 4: Marauder Tendencies

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting this story!

Standard disclaimer applies.

_James, _

_ I hope everything is going well at home. I miss you all so very much._

_ Can you check on the potion that I have brewing in my potions room? Just stir it clockwise five turns. Don't do anything else to it. It should be all ready by the time I get home tomorrow. Don't forget to lock the door when you're done._

_ Give the boys kisses for me._

_ I love you,_

_ Lily_

James opened the door to Lily's potions room. She worked from home, making experimental potions and sending them off to journals for them to be tested. They had set up an entire room just for her to work. A room that was usually off-limits to everyone but Lily. She didn't trust James and Sirius anywhere near it, the boys were too young to be trusted, and Remus had a tendency to cause even the simplest of potions to explode. James knew that if Lily hadn't had to go to a series of out-of-town meetings with her employers, she would never have asked him to go anywhere near her room.

He followed Lily's instructions, stirring the yellow-tinted potion, and turned. As he exited the room, he saw his sons standing in the hallway, waiting for him. They both had a look of innocence on their faces that immediately caused him to be wary.

Lily had been gone since yesterday morning, leaving James alone with his two sons for the first time since Julian had been born. Nothing tragic had happened thus far, but James was on the lookout for mischief from the boys.

"You ready for breakfast?" James asked, hoping to circumvent any trouble the boys were thinking of getting into.

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Harry and Julian questioned simultaneously. Their faces lit up, and James chuckled. He nodded and ushered them into the kitchen.

No one would describe James as an expert in the kitchen. True, he didn't have the tendency to set fire to food like Sirius. But he also couldn't make a meal from scratch out of nearly any ingredient like Remus.

But he could make incredible pancakes.

As he set the plates in front of his sons, he briefly wondered if he was going to regret letting them stuff their faces with this much sugar. But surely things couldn't be too bad, right? They were only five and three, and he was a grown man. He could handle it.

"All right, boys," James said as Harry and Julian finished. "Why don't you go play while I clean up the kitchen?" James could almost hear Sirius teasing him about being domesticated. "Can we stay in PJs?" Julian asked excitedly. James chuckled and nodded, and the boys hurried off to play.

_I might be an expert pancake maker, but Merlin, do I make a mess. _The kitchen was covered with sticky plates and bowls and pans. James sighed before starting to clean up.

He hated cleaning. Tried to avoid it at all costs. Except for quick cleanings at the end of each year, he hadn't cleaned his quadrant of the dorm at Hogwarts in the seven years that they had lived there. Before leaving Hogwarts forever, Remus had forced the other Marauders at wand point to clean the dorm. James and Sirius had made a bet about who had the messiest spot. It had been close, but Sirius had won, mainly because he had found some substance growing underneath his bed that even the house elves would not touch.

But James knew that if Lily came back from her meetings to find her house a mess, she would kill him. So James went to work washing the dishes and the countertops. He finished quickly, thanks to magic, and went to find his sons.

The house that they had lived in for the past four years was not as large as the house that James had grown up in, but it was large enough for their family of four. The boys each had their own bedroom, and they shared a loo. He and Lily had a spacious master bedroom and en-suite. And there was a spare bedroom that Sirius used somewhat often after an evening of drinking or that Remus used sometimes after a rough full moon. There was also a playroom for the boys, and that's where he went first to look for them.

It was fair to say that the boys were a bit spoiled. James had always been given anything and everything he had ever wanted, and he had a tendency to do the same thing with Harry and Julian. And Sirius, who had rarely been given what he wanted, seemed to go overboard with gifts for his godson and nephew. It was probably lucky, he thought, that Remus rarely had extra money, or the boys would have even more.

It was easy to see how the boys were spoiled by simply looking at the playroom. There were toys strewn all over the place. A child-sized Quidditch set sat abandoned in the middle of the room. He saw his sons' broomsticks and stuffed animals and even the Muggle toy cars that Sirius had gotten them. But James didn't see his sons.

He looked in each of the boys' rooms, but when he didn't see them there either, he began to get worried.

"Harry? Julian?" he called out as he walked downstairs. He was met with silence, and then he heard a crash. Worry shot through him and he hurried to the source of the noise.

He found the boys inside Lily's potions room.

_Crap._

The cauldron was on its side, and the yellow-tinted potion that it had once contained was now pooling on the ground. His sons stood in the middle of the puddle, looking sheepishly at him.

_I'm dead. Lily's going to kill me. _

Not because of the spilled potion. Sure, she would be mad at him for that, but she could always remake it. No, Lily would be mad because, obviously, the boys had managed to touch the potion.

And they stood there, yellow feathers sprouting from their skin.

"Are you two okay?" James asked as he withdrew his wand and cleaned up the potion and righted the cauldron.

They nodded, and James forced back a chuckle. They looked utterly ridiculous, standing there with yellow feathers. They were still in their Snitch pajamas. Julian's red hair clashed horribly with the bright yellow, and Harry's glasses, which he needed despite Lily's insistence that he eat eye-enriching vegetables, kept sliding down his feathered face.

"All right, just hang tight. I'll figure out how to reverse this. Just stay there." James found the recipe for the original potion, but when he didn't see a reversal potion, he cursed.

"Mummy said we aren't s'posed to say words like that," Harry said cheekily.

"Yes, well, we just won't tell Mummy, will we, mate?" James said, turning to wink at Harry, but he did a double take when he saw Julian.

The three-year-old was flapping his arms and hovering about a foot above the ground. When he saw James looking at him, he smiled widely and landed.

"Did you see, Daddy? Did you see? I can fly!" Julian said proudly.

"Cool!" Harry exclaimed and began to flap his arms. He rose into the air, higher than Julian had. But unlike Julian, he began drifting over to the side, almost running into Lily's ingredient cabinet. James rushed forward and grabbed Harry, only to turn around and find that Julian had followed his brother's example.

James grabbed both of his sons and left the potions room. He sat down with them onto the couch in the sitting room.

"Daddy, we can fly!" Harry wiggled out of his arms and stood on the couch. He flapped his arms and jumped from the couch to the armchair, hovering in the air a bit before landing. Julian followed him and James buried his face in his hands.

_What am I going to do? _He needed to find a way to undo this, but he couldn't look for the reversal potion and keep an eye on the boys at the same time.

He withdrew his wand and sent a Patronus. A moment later, the fireplace roared to life, and a figure appeared.

"Uncle Moony!" Julian shouted and flew over to Remus.

James laughed at the startled look on the werewolf's face as he caught his godson mid-air.

"Prongs, what on earth have you done?" Remus asked, taking in the feathers on Julian and Harry.

"Hey! What makes you think this is my fault?" James exclaimed indignantly.

Remus threw him a disbelieving look as he sat down next to him, and James had to chuckle.

"This one really wasn't my fault. The boys got into a potion that Lily was brewing."

"Doesn't she keep her room locked?"

This stopped James for a moment. "Yeah, she does. But she asked me to check on it, and… well… I may have forgotten to lock the door when I was done."

Remus chuckled. "So this _is_ partially your fault."

James punched him on the shoulder, but the werewolf just chuckled again.

"Anyways, I hope you didn't ask me here to help you undo this, Prongs. You know how I am with potions." Remus had always maintained that the only reason he had gotten a D instead of a T on his potions O.W.L. was because the examiner had been impressed with how high into the air his potion had shot.

"Merlin, no," James said. "I asked you to come over here to watch the boys while I figure something out."

Remus nodded, and the two Marauders were quiet a moment as they watched Harry and Julian fly around the room.

"What kind of potion is this, Prongs?" Remus asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

James' expression matched his. "I have no idea. I'm just hoping that there's some kind of reversal recipe somewhere."

The sugar rush from the pancakes and syrup had obviously kicked in, and Harry and Julian were zooming around the room, giggling and bumping into each. He felt bad that Remus would have to handle them alone.

"Where's Sirius?" Remus and Sirius had been sharing an apartment for about nine months. It had taken some time for them to adjust, but both seemed happy with the arrangement.

"Not sure exactly. Haven't seen him since last night."

Worry shot through James. It had been four years since they had had to worry about Death Eater attacks, but the war had still left an impression that would probably never leave. There had been a time when not knowing Sirius' whereabouts would have caused him to go out in search of his friend.

Remus put his hand on James' shoulder. "He had a date," he said simply, and the worry instantly left James.

"Oh, of course," James said, smirking.

The Marauders jumped as Harry kicked over a lamp.

"All right, you two, why don't we go upstairs and play while your dad figures this out?" Remus said, standing. He gave James a smile before ushering the boys out of the room and up the stairs.

* * *

James had been hoping that the reversal recipe would be somewhere in the potions room. But he had basically torn the room apart, and he had found nothing. He ran his hand through his hair, wondering what to do.

He had to figure something out before Lily came home. She could not see her sons with feathers, flying around. He had thought about trying to create a reversal potion from scratch. He hadn't been bad at potions, and he thought he could do a decent job working from memory and using Lily's notes. But the risk was too great. If he experimented on their sons and something went wrong, Lily would never forgive him.

"Hey, did you find anything?" Remus asked, poking his head into the room. For the past three hours, he had been playing with the boys upstairs.

James shook his head in despair. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What am I going to do?"

Remus thought for a moment. "You could… well, there is someone who would probably know what to do."

"Who?"

"Snape."

James snorted in laughter. "No." After the war, Dumbledore had hired Snape to be the potions professor at Hogwarts. While James no longer hated the man, he was still not his biggest fan. Lily had reached out to her former friend, and the two had struck up a tentative friendship. But there was no way that James was going to reach out to Snape for help.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Then I'm afraid I don't know what to tell you, Prongs."

"I know. I'll figure something out." James shook his head. "How are the boys?"

"Good. You'd be proud of them. They are using their newfound flying abilities to play Quidditch."

James chuckled. "Of course they are. They are my sons, after all." He was unbelievably proud that his sons had seemingly inherited his Quidditch prowess.

"The boys are getting hungry. Do you want me to make you something for lunch?" Remus asked. James shook his head and Remus continued. "All right. Well, good luck."

"Thanks," James said sarcastically, and he heard his friend chuckle as he walked away.

James grabbed the recipe for the original potion and thought hard. He knew enough of potions to know that for every ingredient, there was something to counter it. All he had to do was find the right ingredients. This was his only option.

An hour later, James had a pile of ingredients that he thought were right for the reversal potion. He was studying the original recipe when he heard Harry's voice in the distance.

"Mummy!"

James froze, and a moment later, the door opened.

"Prongs?" Remus said. "Lily's back."

"She's not supposed to be home until tomorrow!" James said frantically. "Has she seen the boys?"

Remus nodded grimly, but his eyes sparkled in amusement. "Indeed she has. She's waiting for you out in the sitting room."

James sighed, knowing that he would have to face his wife. Better to get it over with as soon as possible. "Thanks for watching the boys, Moony. You'd better head out before Lily starts yelling."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

James punched Remus in the shoulder before the werewolf moved to the fireplace to Floo home. Slowly, James made his way to the sitting room, where he found Lily sitting on the couch with a boy on either side. Harry and Julian were talking over each other, each trying to relate the past two days to their mother.

"Uh, hey, love, I thought you were coming home tomorrow," James said quietly.

Lily looked up and simply stared at him for a moment, and James squirmed. Her face was impassive, which made it worse. He knew that she was going to be mad, that she was going to yell at him at some point; he just didn't know when.

"I got done with my meetings early so I thought I'd come home."

"Well, I'm glad to see you."

"Hm, I should think so."

An awkward pause ensued.

"James?"

"Yes, love?"

"Why do our sons have feathers?"

James was suspicious of the calm voice that Lily was using. "Well, it's a funny story."

"I'm sure it is."

"Yes, truly it is. You asked me to check on your potion?"

"I did."

"And you told me to make sure the door was locked."

"Yes."

"Well, I may have forgotten to lock the door."

"And the boys got into my potion?"

"Yes, they did."

Lily looked down at her boys, who were smiling up at her. She sighed heavily. "All right, my little men, go upstairs with Daddy, and Mummy will figure a way to get the feathers off."

* * *

That night, James lay in bed, waiting for Lily to get done in the loo. She had finished the reversal potion right before dinner, and Harry and Julian had gone to bed featherless. But she still hadn't yelled at him yet.

Lily walked into the room and sank down onto the bed. She climbed underneath the covers and leaned over to kiss James' cheek. He was thoroughly confused when she grabbed a book and started reading.

As much as he hated Lily yelling at him, the anticipation of waiting for her to start was killing him. He wanted to get it out of the way, to get it done with.

"Lily?" James asked cautiously. When she raised her eyebrow, he continued. "Wh- what sort of potion was that anyway?"

Lily laughed. "It's supposed to help restore the feathers and flying abilities of injured magical animals, like hippogriffs or phoenixes. It's not meant for humans."

"Did it hurt the boys?" James asked worriedly.

Lily shook her head. "No. I think they rather enjoyed it, actually." She laughed again, and he frowned. "What's wrong, James?"

"It's just… I thought you'd be mad at me, but you haven't yelled at me yet."

"You want me to yell at you?"

"No! Definitely not. I guess I'm just confused."

Lily scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm not mad, James. I've been expecting this to happen for a while now."

James pulled back and looked at her in disbelief. "You've been expecting our sons to sprout feathers?"

Lily slapped his arm. "Of course not, you prat. That's not what I meant."

"Well then, what did you mean?"

"Just that you are a Marauder, and they are your sons. I would have been shocked if some of your Marauder tendencies hadn't been passed down to them."

James laughed. "Me too." He pulled Lily back into his arms. "Thanks for not being mad at me. And I am sorry."

"Accidents happen, James." She looked up at him sternly. "Just don't let it happen again."


	5. Chapter 5: Adventures in Babysitting

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter is a bit later than normal. I have recently discovered Tumblr, and I am quite addicted to it. Thanks for reading!

I own nothing.

"Ah!" Harry's and Julian's screams echoed throughout the house, and Sirius let out a breathless chuckle. This game of chase had been going on for about fifteen minutes, and Sirius wondered when he'd gotten out of shape.

As an Auror, he chased dark wizards, but running after two boys up and down stairs had him doubled over, gasping for air in the hallway. He was going to have to pay Prongs back for this. When the boys had been younger, babysitting had been easy. It had just been feeding them, changing them, and making sure they didn't die. Now that they were a bit older, their favorite game was "Let's run away from Uncle Padfoot."

"Got'cha!" Harry said, tackling Sirius' legs. The Animagus let out a fake scream of fright and collapsed as Julian came and wrapped his arms around his neck. He rolled onto his back and pulled both boys close. He tickled them, and they let out peals of laughter.

Several minutes later, when Harry and Julian began to beg him to stop, Sirius released them and sat up. "All right, my mini Marauders, time for a bath and then bed."

"Aw, do we have to?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, do we have to?"

The boys were quite different in their looks, but their pouty faces were nearly identical. They usually had Uncle Padfoot wrapped around their little fingers. But Sirius knew that if he didn't get them to bed on time, Lily would be furious with him.

"You do, mini Marauders. We have to wash off all that ice cream and chocolate so your mum and dad don't see," Sirius said, winking. He stood and walked towards the bathroom, carrying a boy under each arm.

Half an hour later, Sirius sat in between the boys in Harry's room. Sirius had had to do one heck of a drying charm after the bath. Harry had decided to see how much of the bathwater he could get out of the tub and onto Sirius. But now all three of them were dry.

"Tell us another story, Uncle Padfoot," Harry pleaded.

"Sorry, mate, you need to get some sleep." Sirius laughed as the boys continued to beg for more stories, but he shook his head. He picked Julian up and tucked Harry in, kissing his forehead, before depositing Julian in his own bed in his own room.

Sirius felt quite responsible and mature as he settled himself on the couch in the sitting room with some papers from work. He had come a long way from the Hogwarts student who had killed his flobberworm. Now, he was regularly left alone with two young boys, and he had managed to keep them alive and well.

A knock sounded at the door, and he placed his work aside to answer it. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see his girlfriend, Eliza, standing with a bottle of wine in her hand. She leaned forward and kissed him.

"Eliza? What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come and surprise you. Maybe have a bit of fun," she said with a smile. "Are you going to let me in?"

Sirius shut the door before he took her hand and led her to the couch. He poured the wine into glasses he summoned from the kitchen, but Eliza seemed more interested in snogging than anything else.

"Eliza," Sirius said, pulling back, "I'm not sure we should be doing this. I'm supposed to be watching the boys." The words were difficult for Sirius to say. Restraint was not one of his strengths.

Eliza scooted closer and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "They're in bed, aren't they?"

"Well, yeah."

"So if we have a bit of fun, no one will be the wiser."

"If James and Lily walk in and see us-"

"I'll be gone long before they get home. I promise." Eliza leaned her face in until their foreheads were touching.

Sirius hesitated a moment before drawing her closer and capturing her lips with his.

* * *

"Harry. Harry, wake up."

Harry rolled over and saw Julian standing over him.

"You awake?"

"Yeah. What is it, Julian?"

"I'm hungry."

"'K."

"Will you come make me a sandwich?"

Harry rolled back over and buried his head in his pillow. "No," he said, the sound muffled."

"Please?"  
"No. Go ask Uncle Padfoot."

"Okay," Julian said before padding out of the room. A moment later, he was back.  
"Harry?"

"What, Julian?"

"Somebody's here."

Harry sat up quickly. "What do you mean?"

"Someone's here with Uncle Padfoot. I'm scared. Will you come downstairs with me?"

Harry heaved a sigh that was much too mature for a seven-year-old. He loved his little brother, but the younger boy was easily scared. Harry climbed out of bed and put his glasses on before taking Julian's hand. "Come on."

When they got downstairs, Harry could tell that his godfather did indeed have company. He peeked into the sitting room and saw Uncle Padfoot lying on the couch. There was a dark-haired woman with him.

"It's a girl, Julian."

"What are they doing?"

"I- I think they're kissing."

"Ew," the brothers said together, scrunching up their noses.

"Will you ask him to make me a sandwich, Harry?" Julian asked, but Harry shook his head.

"If you want a sandwich, you ask him."

Julian started to pout, but Harry ignored him. He had become immune to his little brother's pouts. After a moment, the younger Potter heaved a great sigh and shuffled into the room.

"Uncle Padfoot?" Julian asked softly, stopping halfway between the couch and the door. Uncle Padfoot didn't seem to hear, so he repeated himself.

"Hm?" Uncle Padfoot muttered, not bothering to lift his head.

"I'm hungry. Will you make me a sandwich?"

Uncle Padfoot continued what he was doing, and Harry could tell that his brother was getting frustrated.

"Uncle Padfoot!" Julian said, this time more loudly than all the others.

The beloved man muttered something that Harry could not hear, but Julian turned away from him smiling. Harry followed him into the kitchen, surprised when Julian pulled a chair away from the dining table and over to the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, as his brother climbed onto the chair and reached for the pot that held the Floo powder in it.

"Uncle Padfoot told me to go ask Uncle Moony, so I'm going to their house." Julian teetered precariously on the edge of the chair, and Harry was ready to rush forward. But at the last second, the younger boy jumped onto the ground. His hand was full of Floo powder.

"Mummy and Daddy said we can't use the Floo without them," Harry cautioned.

"Uncle Padfoot said we could."

"I don't think that's what he meant."  
"How am I s'posed to ask Uncle Moony to make me a sandwich if he's at his house and I'm here?"

Harry was getting frustrated. He was tired, for one thing. He didn't like it when somebody woke him up. He just wanted to go back to bed. But Julian wouldn't stop talking about his sandwich, and Harry knew that he would keep at it until he got one.

"Fine. But I'm coming with you," Harry said, climbing into the fireplace beside his brother. Julian threw the powder down, and Harry loudly said the address. Besides his own address, Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony's was the only one that Harry knew. His parents had wanted him to know it, just in case. He wasn't quite sure what the "just in case" meant, but he was glad he knew it anyway.

Seconds later, the Potter brothers tumbled out of the fireplace and into their uncles' sitting room. There were no lights on, and for a second, Harry was afraid that no one was home. He wasn't sure where his uncles kept their Floo powder. What if they couldn't get home?

But then a light shone brightly in their faces for a second before all the lights in the room came on.

"Uncle Moony!" Julian shouted before running and hugging the older man.

The man looked surprised and tired. And ill. He was pale and shaking slightly.

"Are you okay, Uncle Moony?" Harry asked, going to hug him too. His question seemed to shake his uncle out of his stupor, and he bent down in front of the boys.

"What are you two doing here? Is something wrong?"

"I'm hungry," Julian stated. "Will you make me a sandwich?"

For a moment, Uncle Moony looked at Julian like he was crazy. "Isn't… isn't Uncle Padfoot supposed to be babysitting you tonight?"

Harry and Julian nodded.

"I asked him to make me a sandwich, and he told me to ask you." Julian smiled brightly at his godfather.

"So he knows that you are here?" Uncle Moony's face was all scrunched up like he was in pain. Or maybe he was just confused.

Harry and Julian nodded again. Their uncle looked back and forth between them for a second before sighing and standing.

"Well then, let's go make some sandwiches," he said, taking their hands and leading them towards the kitchen.

* * *

Eliza left ten minutes before James and Lily got home. Sirius quickly straightened his clothes and cleared the wine bottle and glasses. He picked up his discarded work moments before the front door opened to admit his best friends.

"Hey, Prongs, Evans, have a nice time?" Sirius questioned as the couple walked into the sitting room.

"It's 'Potter' now, prat, and yes, we had a lovely time," Lily said with a smirk. "How'd the boys do? Are they in bed?"

"They were perfect angels, Lilyflower. Went to bed without a fuss."

"We are talking about _my _sons, right?" James said, plopping down beside Sirius on the couch.

"All right, there was a bit of fuss. But they were good. Honest."

"Thanks for watching them, Sirius." Lily smiled at him before leaving the room to check on the boys.

"So…" James said, staring at Sirius.

"So?" Sirius asked, trying to be nonchalant.

"Interesting love bite you've got there, Pads. Don't remember seeing that before we left."

Sirius reached up to the place on his neck that he had thought his shirt hid. He shrugged. James was bound to be far less angry about Eliza coming over than Lily would be. Quietly, he told his friend about his night. "But the boys were in bed by the time she came over. I promise."

James looked shrewdly at him. "Was it just snogging?"

"Merlin yes. I wouldn't do anything more with the boys upstairs."

James thought for a moment then shrugged. "As long as they were in bed, I'm fine with it. Just don't let Lily know."

Sirius chuckled. "Wasn't planning on it." It was amazing how brave the three Marauders could be when facing Voldemort and Death Eaters, but an angry Lily had them shaking in their boots.

"Sirius?" Lily asked as she re-entered the room, a worried look on her face. "Where are the boys?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, hoping this was some sort of prank. Lily had yet to pull one over on him, though it was not for lack of trying. "They're upstairs in their rooms."

"No, they're not. I looked everywhere upstairs and they are not there. What is going on?"

Sirius could tell by the look on her face that this wasn't a prank, and worry shot through him. "Are you sure they're not somewhere in the house?" He leapt up off the couch and hurried through the house and searched for the boys, but they were nowhere to be found.

"How on earth could you lose them, Sirius?" Lily asked, her voice tight with worry.

Her expression turned into fury as Sirius told her why he'd been a bit distracted that night. She gasped and slapped him.

"How dare you?!" Lily screamed.

"Lily, calm down," James said quietly.

"No! I will not calm down! Our sons are missing, James. _Missing!_ And it's all because your idiot of a friend couldn't restrain himself for a few hours!"

Sirius had thought that he had seen Lily mad before, but those previous times were nothing compared to this moment. Her face was so red that it nearly matched her hair. Her eyes were wide and frantic, and her breaths were coming in short gasps.

His cheek still stung from where she had slapped him, but the pain in his chest hurt worse. Just a few hours ago, he had felt so responsible, like an adult. And now, he had thoroughly messed it all up.

"What are we going to do?" Lily asked, burying her face into James' shoulder. Her anger, always quick-rising but short-lived, had given way to despair.

"We'll find them. We'll look everywhere they might have gone," James said, wrapping his arms around his wife. Sirius could tell that his friend was scared also, and he felt horrible for being the one to cause it.

"I'll call Moony," Sirius said, sending a Patronus message to his friend. He felt bad for disturbing the man. The following night was the full moon, and Remus was already feelings its effects.

Moments later, the Floo fire roared to life, and Remus stumbled out, along with the two boys.

"Mummy!" Julian cried, running to Lily, who started crying at the sight of him.

"Why are you crying, Mummy?" Harry asked, running to hug her also.

Lily shook her head and wiped her tears before kissing both of her sons.

"You gave us quite the scare, little men," James said, scooping his sons up into his arms.

"What were they doing with you, Moony?" Sirius asked, confused.

Remus mirrored his look. "They Flooed over to the apartment. They said you knew where they were."

All eyes turned to the boys.

"I was hungry and wanted a sandwich," Julian stated. "Uncle Padfoot told me to go ask Uncle Moony."

Sirius vaguely remembered hearing the boy ask him to make him something to eat, and guilt shot through him. He hadn't realized quite how distracted he had been.

"You boys used the Floo by yourselves?" Lily asked, her face pale. "Daddy and I told you not to do that without us. You could have gotten lost."

"Sorry, Mummy," Harry and Julian said, their heads bowed.

Lily leaned forward and kissed them both. "We'll talk about this more tomorrow. Right now, both of you need to go back to bed."

After the boys had disappeared upstairs, Remus stepped forward and said urgently, "They scared me half to death. That can't happen again. What if this had happened tomorrow night?"

"We'll make sure they know that they can't do this ever again, Moony. Calm down," James said, a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Why don't you head back to your place? You look like you could use some rest."

The werewolf nodded as he swayed slightly.

"Thanks for bringing the boys home safely, Remus," Lily said. She hugged him then pushed him gently towards the fireplace. The Floo fires had just gone down when she turned to Sirius.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, hoping to circumvent her angry tirade. "I shouldn't have let Eliza come over. It was stupid and wrong, and I am very sorry."

Lily studied him for a moment, her green eyes seemingly staring through him. "It _was_ stupid and wrong, Sirius. I'm disappointed and angry. This could have ended badly. But it didn't. So I forgive you. However, if you ever put my babies in any sort of danger again, I will castrate you."

Sirius flinched but nodded his head. "It won't happen again."

Lily nodded and then turned to go upstairs.

"Sorry, Prongsie."

James shrugged. "It's all right. Don't tell Lily this, but I lost the boys in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago. 'Bout gave me a heart attack. Stuff like this happens sometimes. Although, I've never lost them in my own house." He smirked and Sirius punched his arm.

"Prat."

"I know."

The two Marauders laughed before James clapped Sirius on the shoulder. "You should probably go home. Moony looked like he was going to keel over at any second."

Sirius nodded before heading to the fireplace. He still felt guilty that his distraction had led to such panic amongst his friends. But he was tremendously glad that the boys were safe. Being a godfather was much more difficult than what Sirius had previously thought.


	6. Chapter 6: A Difficult Conversation

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter!

Standard disclaimer applies.

"Do you think he's sleepin', Harry?"

"It looks like it."

"Wake him up."

"You wake him up, Julian."

"No, you."

"No! You!"

Remus opened his eyes to see the two standing near the bed arguing. He had been sleeping quite peacefully before the boys had begun talking. But now, he was wide awake.

"Uncle Moony!" Julian exclaimed and launched himself at the werewolf. He landed right on the still-healing gash on Remus' stomach, and he grimaced, though he tried to hide it.

"Boys, I think your mum said to quietly come wake Uncle Moony up, not yell and jump on him," James said, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"I didn't jump on him, Dad; Julian did."

"Tattle!"

"He can see you on Uncle Moony-"

"Enough, please. Go downstairs, boys."

"But Mum said to get Uncle Moony up," Julian said, his lower lip curling into a pout.

"And you've done your job. He's awake. Now go downstairs." Remus was always impressed with how authoritative his friend had become. Although he could still act like a kid at times, James had matured greatly.

"Did Julian reopen that wound, Moony?" James asked, after the boys left. He stepped into the room and closed the door.

Remus shook his head and forced himself into a sitting position. Pain radiated out from his stomach, but it was bearable. "I've been asleep all day?"

"Yeah. You passed out in the guest room, and since the boys were gone for the day, you could actually sleep. In fact, we all were able to sleep without the little terrors here." James smirked. He loved his sons, but they both took after him a bit too much. "But at least we're not the Weasleys. Merlin, I don't know how they manage with seven kids. Anyway, dinner's done, so come on down whenever you're ready."

Remus smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I'll be down in just a minute."

James nodded before leaving. The door shut behind him, and Remus climbed out of bed.

He usually didn't come back to the Potters' house after the full moon. They asked him to every month, but he had always assured them that he would be fine at the apartment that he shared with Sirius. James could heal him and Sirius could help him if he needed to. Remus had never wanted to expose Harry and Julian to the aftermath of the full moon. He had agreed to stay at the Potters' this time only after being informed that the boys would spend the night at the Weasleys' house. He had a cold, and being sick always made the transformation more difficult. Thankfully, his injuries were not severe, and he was planning on returning home after dinner.

Remus changed into clean clothes and walked gingerly down the stairs, not wanting to aggravate his injury. As he entered the kitchen, the wonderful aromas of Lily's cooking filled his nostrils. He felt his appetite returning and was glad that he was at the Potters'. Remus usually did the cooking at the apartment because Sirius had a tendency to burn everything past the point of it being edible; so right after a full moon, Remus usually ate food that did not need to be cooked, like cereal. Sirius had not as of yet messed up the cereal, but Remus was just waiting for that to be banned too.

"How are you, Remus?" Lily asked quietly as Remus sat down at the table next to Sirius. James and Sirius were having a conversation about work, and Harry and Julian sat looking at Chocolate Frog cards.

"I'm fine, Lily. Thank you for letting me stay here today."

"Not a problem." Lily smiled sweetly as she moved all of the food to the table.

As hungry as Remus was, he waited before getting his food. He had learned the hard way while at Hogwarts that James and Sirius could be downright mean if someone kept them from their food; Harry and Julian were quickly following their example. After the first mad rush, Remus and Lily got their food.

"So, boys, how was your night at the Weasleys' house?" James asked around a mouth full of chicken. Lily had long ago given up any hope of teaching her husband table manners.

"It was fun, Dad," Harry said since Julian's mouth was too full to speak.

"And what did you do?"

"We went on a werewolf hunt!" Julian exclaimed after successfully swallowing.

All noise from the adults ceased immediately. Remus could feel the eyes of his friends on him, but he could not meet their gazes. Instead, his eyes were riveted on the two precious boys in front of him.

"What do you mean by that?" Remus asked quietly, hoping and praying that it didn't mean what he thought it meant.

"Charlie, that's Ron's older brother, took us outside," Harry said, looking confused. Remus was sure that he didn't understand why the other adults were so hesitant.

"Outside? You were outside last night?" Lily said, her face pale.

"Yeah, Mum. That's when you hunt werewolves. At night," Harry stated matter-of-factly.

Remus could feel his heart beating fast. After Julian's birth, Lily and James had sat Remus down and asked him how he wanted to handle the lycanthropy issue with the boys. They had never cared if the boys knew, but Remus had. Harry and Julian loved him, and he loved them. He was afraid that if they knew what he was, they would be too scared of him to come near him. So, he had asked James and Lily to keep it a secret until the right time.

This didn't feel like the right time. His stomach hurt from his injury, and his body ached from the transformation it had been forced to endure. Even though he had slept all day, his head still felt clouded with fatigue. But he could feel it coming, the moment when he would have to share his secret with these two boys he cared about so much. He just wished he felt more prepared.

"Harry," James said gravely, "that was very foolish."

"But Charlie was with us, Dad," Harry responded with all the indignation that an eight-year-old could muster up.

"Oh, well then, that makes a difference," James said sarcastically, "because a fifteen-year-old boy who isn't even out of Hogwarts yet will be able to protect you against-" He stopped and looked at Remus, seemingly thinking better of what he was about to say.

"But Charlie's really good at magic, Dad. He wants to work with dragons. And we didn't go far. Just in their yard. He told us scary stories. But we didn't see any werewolves."

Every time Harry said "werewolves," pain shot through Remus. Because the boy wasn't saying it with the innocence of someone without prejudice. He was saying it with the subtle disgust of one who has heard the horror stories. Remus realized with dread that someone had gotten to Harry and Julian first; someone else had told them what werewolves were like.

"What sort of scary stories?" Sirius asked, concern showing on his face.

"Really scary stories, Uncle Padfoot. I didn't like 'em!" Julian said.

"They were just silly stories, Uncle Padfoot. Like Bartholomew the Werewolf Hunter," Harry said.

Remus closed his eyes in pain. The story that Harry had mentioned was horrible. Bartholomew, the hero of the story, protected his village against werewolves after one had murdered his entire family. It cast werewolves in the worst light possible.

Lily gasped and looked at James. "I can't believe that Charlie would think that was okay. Molly will be livid when I tell her."

"Mum, you can't! Charlie will get into trouble!"

"Harry, Charlie deserves to get into trouble. He can't take little kids outside on the full moon and tell them stories like that."

"But Mum, nothing happened. We didn't see any stupid old werewolves."

James slammed his hand on the table. "I don't want to hear you talking like that, Harry James."

"But Dad-"

"No! Not in this house."

"But I just said that werewolves-"

"I heard what you said the first time, and I'm telling you that I don't want to hear it again!"

Remus could tell that things were quickly falling apart. Sirius looked livid, and so did James. Lily was pale and upset, and Julian had tears in his eyes. And Harry…

Harry was confused. He met Remus' gaze. "Uncle Moony-"

"No, Harry-" James tried to say, but Remus held up his hand.

At Hogwarts, the Marauders had been able to tell what the others were thinking simply by looking at them. It was a useful skill while prowling the halls at night. As Remus looked at James, he begged him silently to understand.

_I need to tell him. Now._

_Are you sure? _James seemed to say. Remus hesitated then nodded, and James shrugged, giving him permission.

This wasn't the ideal time nor place for this conversation, but Remus could not let it go any longer.

"Harry, Julian, I want to tell you a story."

"I like your stories, Uncle Moony! They're not scary at all," Julian said, smiling up at him.

Remus' smile was strained as he answered. "This isn't like my other stories, but it is important that you listen." It was too hard to look his godson in the eyes, so instead, he focused on Harry. "There was once a man, a wizard. He had a wife and a son, and he worked at the Ministry. One day, he was asked to sit in as a group of wizards and witches questioned a Muggle about an attack on a young child. A werewolf attack. They thought that the Muggle knew something about the attack, but the man thought differently. He thought that the Muggle was actually the werewolf who had attacked the child. The other witches and wizards wouldn't listen, and the man got angry. He said some things, some mean things, about werewolves before they asked him to leave the room.

"But the man was right. The Muggle wasn't actually a Muggle; he was a werewolf. And he didn't like what the man had said. The werewolf escaped from the Ministry and decided to get back at the man who had said the mean things about him.

"So, two months later during the full moon, the werewolf attacked. But he didn't attack the man; he attacked the man's son. He was four years old." Remus' chest was getting tighter and tighter; each breath was a deliberate effort. He hated having to think about the circumstances surrounding his bite, and he hated that now Harry and Julian would know what had happened.

"Was the boy a werewolf too?" Harry asked quietly. His eyes had gotten wider and wider as the story progressed.

"Yes."

"What happened to him?"

"His parents loved him very much and decided to keep him," Remus said. "But life was very hard after that. Many people did not like werewolves. If they found out what the boy was, they would be very mean to him. They didn't want him living near them."

"But aren't werewolves dangerous?" Harry asked. Julian had crawled into Lily's lap at some point during the story.

"Only at the full moon, Harry," Sirius interjected.

"But even then, the boy's parents made sure that he was safe and that he wouldn't hurt anybody," Remus continued. "The boy's parents tried to protect him as much as possible. He wasn't allowed to go to school or make many friends; no one could find out what he was. But then, one day, Professor Dumbledore came to his house and offered him a spot at Hogwarts. The professor already had plans to keep the boy and the other students safe. The boy had never thought he would be able to go to Hogwarts, and he was thrilled when he got the chance to go. While there, he made three amazing friends who did not care what he was. And those three friends are still standing by him today."

"But Charlie said that werewolves attack people and are mean," Harry said, looking confused.

"Harry, do you remember how Mum and I told you that there are good wizards and bad wizards?" When Harry nodded, James continued. "Well, just like that, there are good werewolves and bad werewolves. And this boy was one of the good ones."

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion, which made Remus' heart ache. He couldn't put this off any longer.

"Harry, Julian," Remus said softly, "the man in the story… well, he was my father. And I am the boy."

Harry gasped and his eyes widened drastically. "Uncle Moony, you're… you're a werewolf?"

Remus nodded. He could hear the fear in the boy's voice and see it in his eyes. Julian looked like he didn't care much about it, but Harry was quite obviously frightened.

"It's all right to be scared, Harry."

"No, it isn't," James stated, his voice angry.

"Yes, it is, James." Remus threw a hard look at his friend. "But, Harry, I make sure that I am safe during the full moon. I would never hurt you or Julian or anyone else."

The boy nodded, but Remus could tell that he was still wary of him.

"Maybe we should talk more about this later," Lily suggested quietly, encouraging Julian to return to his seat.

Dinner continued, but it was a strained affair. Remus could almost feel Harry giving him anxious looks. He tried to ignore that and act as normally as possible. But acting normal was becoming increasingly more difficult as dinner continued. His head felt heavy on his shoulders, and he could feel a small trickle of blood leaking out of the wound on his stomach. He just wanted to go home and sleep, but he forced himself to stay upright.

"Mum, I'm done. May I be excused?" Harry asked, after having nearly cleaned his plate.

"Me too!" Julian said.

Lily nodded, and both boys carried their plates to the sink. Harry made his way to the door, but Julian didn't. Instead, he rushed over to Remus and climbed into his lap.

"I'm not afraid of you, Uncle Moony," his godson said, throwing his arms around the werewolf's neck.

Remus wrapped his arms around Julian, holding him close as warmth spread through his chest. "Thank you." He felt as though the words were inadequate, but his fatigued mind couldn't think of anything better.

Julian threw him a huge smile before climbing down and joining his brother. Harry hesitated at the door, but he then turned and climbed the stairs to his room.

James cursed.

"James-"

"I can't believe this. I can't believe _my_ son is acting like this. He's known you since he was born. He loves you. Why would he treat you like this?"

"It's normal to be scared, Prongs," Remus said. He didn't want his friend to be mad at Harry.

"You are the least scary person I've ever met, Moony."

"And yet you and Padfoot were scared when you first found out." The two Marauders protested this, but Remus held up his hand. "It may have just been for a moment, but you both grew up in wizarding families. You both had heard stories. You can't tell me that, even if only for a second, you two weren't a bit frightened at the thought of sharing a room with a werewolf."

James and Sirius shared a look, confirming Remus' suspicions. He didn't blame his friends. He was sometimes scared of himself. It would be hypocritical to be upset that others were frightened of him too.

"We might've been… a bit hesitant. But we quickly got over that," James said. "And we have tried to raise the boys without any of that prejudice."

"And you've done a great job, Prongs," Sirius said. "Harry'll come around."

At that moment, the boy in question appeared in the kitchen door. He looked unsure of himself, but the fear from before had gone.

"Do you need something, love?" Lily asked gently.

Harry nodded, paused, and then ran over to Remus. "I'm sorry, Uncle Moony. I know you're not bad and you'd never hurt us." He wrapped his arms around Remus, more gently than his brother had.

Remus dropped a kiss on the messy black hair. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Harry. It's okay. I love you, little man."

"Love you too, Uncle Moony," Harry said, shooting him a timid smile before racing out of the room.

"See? Told you," Sirius said smugly.

Exhaustion settled onto Remus suddenly, and he felt himself drooping. The emotional ups and downs he had experienced in the last hour had left him completely drained.

"Why don't you head home, Remus? You look done in. We'll talk to the boys later tonight and make sure they know to keep it a secret."

Remus threw Lily a grateful smile before rising from his seat. Sirius accompanied him back to the apartment, and Remus immediately collapsed onto his own bed.

Even though Remus had been dreading telling the boys his secret, he felt relief now that it was over. He hated keeping secrets from those he loved. Now, everyone dear to him knew. And they still loved him, still were willing to be near him. That was more than he had ever dared to ask for.


	7. Chapter 7: Wolfsbane

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far, and thank you to Lupinesence and Nimbus Llewelyn for reviewing the last chapter!

I just started an internship, so I'm not sure how often I will be able to update this summer. But I will do my best!

I own nothing you recognize. Unfortunately.

"Harry James! Julian Charles! Get yourselves down here right now!"

Lily's voice rang in his ears as James stepped out of the Floo. He was half tempted to turn around and go back to work. But he was also curious as to what his sons had done this time.

Harry and Julian had both inherited their father's mischief-making capabilities. It didn't help matters that their godfathers encouraged them. James had thought that Remus would have a calming influence on his godson. But he hadn't counted on the fact that, while by far the most sensible one of them, Remus was still a Marauder.

The last time James and Lily had left the boys with their godfathers, they had come home to Sirius hanging upside from the ceiling, his hair and clothes Slytherin green. Remus had been reading while Harry and Julian had been laughing hysterically. The werewolf had since been put on babysitting probation, although James suspected that wouldn't last long. He was one of the few people that the Potters trusted to watch the boys.

With some hesitation, James made his way to the kitchen. There, he found his sons standing with guilty expressions in front of his wife. She had her hands on her hips, and while she was trying to look stern, he could tell that she was fighting a smile.

"What's this all about, love?" he asked cautiously.

Lily's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Boys, would you like to tell your father what you did?"

Harry, who was the usual spokesperson for the duo, shook his head.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Your sons-"

"Why are they always _my _sons whenever they are in trouble?"  
"_Your_ sons," Lily began again with a glare at James, "decided to put dungbombs underneath the cushions of Sirius' dining chair."

James laughed.

"James! This isn't funny!" But Lily's lips were slowly curving into a smile. "This could've ruined dinner for everybody."

James personally thought that Sirius and Remus would find it just as humorous as he had, but he wisely refrained from saying so. "Of course, Lily. Harry, Julian, you know you're not supposed to play pranks at dinner. Go up to your rooms."

"Sorry," the boys mumbled, but he could tell that they didn't truly mean it. The boys shuffled out of the room and up the stairs.

A moment of silence descended upon the two Potters before they both started chuckling. Lily tried to smother the laughter with her hand.

"We really… shouldn't be laughing."

"You're right," James said, "but can you imagine the look on Padfoot's face if the dungbombs had gone off?"

That set them to laughing again.

"We really shouldn't encourage them, you know," Lily said, laughter fading into seriousness.

"I know," James said, sighing. "It's just so hard for me to discipline them when they remind me so much of myself."

Lily nodded, moving back to the stove to put the finishing touches on dinner. "I understand, but we don't want them to be too out of control."

"They're not out of control, though. Not really. They're just… rambunctious."

Lily opened her mouth to reply when they heard the Floo fire roar to life. Seconds later, Sirius entered the kitchen.

"Hello there, Lilykins! Aren't you looking lovely today?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend to annoy, Black?"

"I do, but Zara had to go out of town. So, I'll just have to pester you instead!"

"Oh joy."

"The boys tried to play a prank on you, Pads," James said as the two men sat at the dining table. He quickly recounted his sons' antics, and, like he expected, his friend laughed.

"You should've let 'em! Merlin, that would've been hysterical!"

"Of course you would think that," Lily said with a shake of her head. "James, you should go change. By the time you're done, dinner will be ready. Let the boys know, will you?"

James nodded and went to change out of his Auror robes. Before heading back downstairs, he went to find the boys.

He found them in Harry's room, playing gobstones. He entered the room and sat down next to them.

"Is Mum mad at us?" Harry asked quietly.

"Mmm, not really," James responded.

"Good. I don't like it when Mummy's mad at us," Julian stated, and James chuckled.

"I don't like it either." He sighed. "Listen, I love that you two play pranks. I used to do the same thing when I was younger. But you have to know the right time and place for pranks. And setting off dungbombs in the dining room in the middle of a nice dinner that your Mum just cooked is neither the right time nor the right place. Understand?"

Harry and Julian nodded.

"Now," James continued, "if you want to put to put some under Uncle Padfoot's pillow the next time you are over at his apartment, then feel free." He winked at his sons, and they laughed.

"Boys, dinner!" Lily's voice echoed up the stairs.

James and his sons stood, and the boys rushed down into the dining room. He followed more slowly behind and took his seat next to Lily.

"Where's Moony?" James asked as Lily set the food on the table.

"He had an interview," Sirius said. "He said to go ahead and get started without him."

The boys needed no further prompting and quickly began filling their plates.

Halfway through their meal, Remus appeared. He had obviously come straight from his interview, because he was wearing the dress robes that James and Sirius had bought for him. He greeted them before he sat down at the table and began eating.

"So?" Sirius asked Remus.

Remus paused in his eating before waving away the question. "Later."

* * *

Despite the many questioning looks thrown his way, Remus refused to talk about the interview until after dinner. Finally, when the boys were back up in their rooms playing, he started to talk.

"I got the job, if I want it."

"That's great!"

"Excellent!"

"Congratulations!"

When Remus looked hesitant, James asked, "What sort of job is this?"

"Well… I'd be working for this… researcher, I suppose you could call him. He wants to travel around the world, studying different magical creatures. He wants an expert in dark creatures to travel with him. Dumbledore recommended me."

There was silence for a moment.

"So, you'd be traveling abroad?" When Remus nodded, Sirius continued, "How long would you be gone?"

"A year."

"That seems like an incredible opportunity," Lily said slowly. "Does he know…?"  
"He does." Remus met Lily's gaze. "He actually seemed a bit excited about my condition."

James wondered how this man was expecting the full moons to be handled and voiced his concerns.

"There's a relatively new potion. Wolfsbane potion. It is supposed to allow me to keep my mind while transformed."

"Have you heard of this potion, Lily?" James asked in surprise.

Lily nodded and shifted uncomfortably. "I have, but I wanted to wait a bit before making it for Remus. I didn't want a repeat of last time."

James shuddered at the thought. During the war, Lily had made Remus a new potion, probably a precursor of the Wolfsbane. This potion was rumored to greatly calm the transformed werewolf. However, it had only succeeded in making Remus violently ill hours before moonrise. It had been one of the worst full moons the Marauders had ever experienced, and it had landed the werewolf in St. Mungo's for nearly a week. Lily had felt horrible about it.

"I understand," Remus said. "I haven't been too eager to try it, either." He paused. "But, Lily, if I wanted to try it, would you make it for me? This researcher said that he would supply it for me, but I would want to make sure it actually works before leaving."

Lily looked hesitant before nodding. "Of course. Does that mean that you're going to accept the job?"

Remus sat staring at his hands for a moment. "I'm not sure."  
"What are you unsure about?" Sirius asked.

"I'd be gone for a whole year. I'd… I'd miss out on so much."

"You'd be back before Harry left for Hogwarts," James stated. "What else?"

Remus shrugged. "Other than the possibility of the Wolfsbane potion not working, that was the main negative."

"And what are the positives?" Lily asked softly.

"Well, it's a job."

That elicited strained chuckles from all of the adults in the room. It had been over six months since the werewolf's last job.

"It pays well," Remus said, sighing. He paused for a moment before looking at his friends. "There's new legislation that some in the Ministry are trying to pass. This might be my last chance to have a real job, to make good money. And it's something that I would enjoy, I think. It wouldn't be like my other jobs. Menial labor. It would be academic, and, well," Remus chuckled, "you all know how much I love that type of work."

James smiled, but Remus' gaze returned to his hands.

"I know that it is foolish, but it seems wrong to leave you all for that long."

James didn't think it was foolish at all. For so long, ever since they were eleven, the Marauders had stuck together. They were brothers, the only family that they had left. They had been separated at times during the war, and it had been an extremely difficult time for all of them.

"You should do it," Sirius said, surprising James.

Sirius would be the one who would miss Remus the most. They saw each other everyday. If Remus took the job, it would mean that Sirius would be alone in the apartment for the first time in years.

"It's a great opportunity. You can't pass it up," Sirius continued.

"I agree. Take it, Moony," James encouraged.

"I'll make the Wolfsbane potion. You can try it this next full moon, and when it works, because I'm sure it will, you can accept the job," Lily added.

Remus still looked hesitant, but he nodded.

James smiled. Things wouldn't be the same without their friend, but this was the first real chance that he had ever been given. They couldn't let him pass it up.

* * *

"Here," Lily said, holding a bottle of potion out to James.

He thanked her and carefully placed it among the bandages and potions already in his bag. He muttered under his breath as he double-checked to make sure that everything was ready.

"Nervous?"

James looked up at his wife. If anything, she looked nervous. She was biting her lower lip and shifting in discomfort. He sighed and took her in his arms.

"It'll be fine, sweetheart," James reassured. "I just talked to Padfoot. Moony isn't puking his guts up."

"James!" Lily pushed away from him with an indignant look on her face. "That isn't funny!"

His smile dropped off his face. "I know it's not. But it's not going to do anybody any good to worry. Padfoot and I will be with him the entire night. If something goes wrong, we'll get him to St. Mungo's as soon as he transforms back. It's better for him that we try it now, before he leaves the country."

Lily nodded, but she still looked uneasy. "Just… be careful, all right?"

"Of course," James said and kissed her head. "I should get going."

He kissed her again before grabbing the bag. He dropped into the boys' rooms to kiss them good-bye before apparating over to Sirius and Remus' apartment.

"Hey, how is he?" he asked Sirius, who was standing in the kitchen, making a cup of tea.

Sirius shrugged. "Just about normal. He has a bad headache. But he's not near death, so that's good at least."

"I can hear you, you know!" Remus' voice called from the sitting room.

"He's also very irritable," Sirius said with a smirk, and James chuckled. They were well experienced in dealing with pre-full moon Remus. They had gotten to the point where they found their normally cool tempered friend's behavior entertaining.

James entered the sitting room and sat down in a chair by Remus, who was lying on the couch, covered in a blanket.

"All right, Moony?"

"Never better," the werewolf bit out sarcastically.

* * *

About an hour before moonrise, the Marauders apparated to the edge of the forest that they had been using for full moons ever since they had graduated from Hogwarts. They always came early so that Remus could relax a bit before the transformation. Like every other month, the three friends sat with their backs against trees, talking.

"I think I'm going to propose to Zara," Sirius said suddenly. The other two Marauders stared at him. "What?"

"I didn't realize you were that serious about her," James said. He could tell that Remus was thinking the same thing.

"Of course I'm _Sirius _about her."

James and Remus groaned loudly. That pun had gotten old about halfway through their first term at Hogwarts. But that hadn't stopped Sirius from using it. James suspected that his friend continued with it only because he knew how much it annoyed others.

"Padfoot."

"Fine." Sirius sighed. "I am serious about her. Very."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean by that, Prongs?"

James held up his hands at the defensive tone in his friend's voice. "I just mean that you haven't been with her for very long."

"Really? How long were you and Lily together before getting married?"

"That was different! We'd known each other since we were eleven."

"And she hated you for at least five years!"  
"Will both of you shut up?!" Remus shouted, and James and Sirius immediately stopped. "Sorry, Moony," they said simultaneously.

Silence descended on the trio for a moment before James sighed. "Listen, Pads, if you love Zara and want to propose, I'll support you. I like her, okay? I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Thanks, Prongs," Sirius responded.

"Just don't get married without me, Padfoot," Remus joked, his eyes closed.

The Marauders chuckled softly before Remus stiffened. "I'd better get ready."

Sirius withdrew a blanket from his bag, and he and James turned their backs while Remus undressed. Once the werewolf was wrapped up in the blanket and his clothes were folded and placed in a bag, the other Marauders turned back around.

"So what's the plan, Moony?" James asked. In almost every other situation, James and Sirius took charge. They had always decided what to do and how to do it. But when it came to the full moon, they let Remus dictate what they did. They gave him as much control as they could before he lost all control completely.

"You need to change. Wait until… I give you some sort of signal… before changing back. And only one of you change… at first. You have to… have to be careful."

James could tell that Remus was in pain. His breaths were coming in short gasps. But this wasn't like other full moons. Usually by this time, the Remus that they knew would be slipping away from them to be slowly replaced by the wolf. He would be disoriented and barely capable of speech. But this full moon, he seemed to be holding on longer.

A sharp gasp filled the air. Remus slumped onto his side on the ground and curled into a tight ball. His face was contorted in pain. He bit his bottom lip to keep in the pain-filled screams, but he couldn't prevent the groans that signaled how much he was hurting.

James and Sirius changed into their Animagus forms as Remus' hand clawed at the ground. When he had first mastered the Animagus transformation, James had been amazed at how different he felt as a stag. He had looked ridiculous as he had tried to master walking on four legs with a massive set of antlers atop his head. Now, however, it all seemed completely natural.

James held his breath as Remus' tremors stopped and the wolf emerged from the blanket. They stood staring at each other for a moment. The wolf's appearance hadn't changed at all, but something seemed to be different about him.

Still, he wondered if the potion had worked. Until the wolf sat on his haunches and seemingly smiled at them.

James and Sirius shared a look before nodding. Sirius moved forward to stand in front of James. They had decided that he would stay a canine, in case something went wrong.

James' heart pounded in his chest. Remus was one of his closest friends. And while he had never been afraid exactly of his friend, he had also never underestimated the wolf's capability to harm him. Remus had made sure of that. Before he had allowed his friends to join him during the full moon, the werewolf had made sure that the others were taking it all seriously. So, transforming back into a human in front of him during the full moon had James uneasy.

He took a deep breath before making the change. His eyes were trained on the werewolf. The wolf looked at him for a second before dropping to his stomach and covering his snout with a paw.

Sirius barked before transforming back into a human himself. "Well, will you look at that?" He threw a smile over his shoulder at James and moved forward.

"Padfoot…" James cautioned. The potion had obviously worked or the wolf would have already tried to tear them apart. But he still didn't think they should push it.

"It'll be fine, Prongs."

He rolled his eyes at Sirius' blasé attitude. His friend had matured greatly over the years, but he still had the tendency to take undue risks. James watched with bated breath as Sirius approached the wolf.

Apparently, Remus didn't think too highly of this idea either, because as the Animagus moved forward, the wolf growled.

"Padfoot, be careful," James said, but Sirius didn't listen. He continued forward.

The wolf stood suddenly and backed away from the Animagus.

"Oh, come on, Moony. It's fine."

The wolf snapped his jaws, and Sirius finally stopped his approach.

"Okay, okay. We'll do things your way."

The wolf paused for a second before nodding his head.

"So… now that we know that you're not going to tear us apart, let's see what you can do," Sirius said, before changing back into a dog and lunging at the wolf.

James laughed when Sirius yelped as Remus chased him through the trees. He changed into a stag and joined in on the chase.

* * *

"We've been doing this for over ten years, and I've never seen Moony sleep during the full moon."

Sirius dropped down next to James, who was sitting with his back against a tree. The two took a moment to look across the clearing at Remus, who was curled up in a ball, fast asleep. The wolf gave a snort, and his friends laughed.

James was tempted to close his eyes to sleep. It had been a long day and night, but there was too much adrenaline running through his veins.

"I'm glad the potion worked," James said. Remus had been fully in control the entire night. It was a welcome change to the usual full moon routine. James and Sirius had never minded keeping the wolf distracted, but it had taken its toll on Remus over the years.

Sirius nodded but didn't say anything.

"Padfoot?"

"Do you really think it's too soon for me to propose to Zara?"

James looked at his friend in surprise. He hadn't realized that Sirius had been so upset by their earlier conversation. His question was innocent enough, but James had spent years deciphering the hidden meanings behind his friend's tone.

"What do you think, Pads?" James said quietly so they didn't wake up Remus.

Sirius shrugged.

"Don't just shrug. What do you think?"

"I thought it was a good idea, but obviously you think differently." The defensiveness in his tone was apparent.

James sighed. He was one of the only people who had ever been able to discourage Sirius against doing something. His words held more weight than anybody else's.

"You have to do what you think is best, Padfoot. This is something that you have to decide for yourself."

"But I want your opinion."

The two stared at each other for a moment before James turned away. "I think you haven't known each other long enough. I mean, she's great, but you haven't even been dating for a year. But in the end, that doesn't matter if you love her. I had quite a few people tell me that Lily and I were too young, and look at us now. It's all just really subjective."

Sirius nodded.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Do you see yourself spending the rest of your life with her?"

"Yes."

"Then propose."

"You think so?"

James wasn't used to seeing Sirius so unsure of himself. He realized then how important this was to his friend. "Yes, I do."

* * *

"James?"

He sighed as he crawled into bed. He had been hoping that he wouldn't wake up his wife, but that obviously hadn't happened.

"Yeah, love?"

"Is everything all right?" Lily rolled over, and the two lay nearly nose-to-nose.

"Everything went perfectly," James said.

"Really?"

"Really. Go to sleep, Lils," James said, kissing her lips.

She nodded before burrowing her head into James' shoulder.

As James' eyes drifted close, he decided that this was the best full moon that the Marauders had spent together.


	8. Chapter 8: Auror Duties

Author's Note: Thank you, Good Sophie and Lupinesence, for reviewing, and thanks to everyone for reading! Not entirely sure how this chapter turned out, but here goes nothing! :)

I own nothing that you recognize.

"Merlin, Padfoot, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?"

"Really? You're going to complain? Because your body odor is burning my eyes."

"Shut up, Pads."

"You shut up, Prongs."

James and Sirius had known each other since their first year at Hogwarts. Since then, they had been nearly inseparable. Even now as adults, they spent more time together than apart. Especially since they were both Aurors. They were partners and went on many missions together.

Including the one they were on now.

James and Sirius had spent the majority of the last forty-eight hours underneath an invisibility cloak outside a seemingly abandoned house, waiting for their suspect to show up. Randall Philips had been seen using _Engorgio _on various animals to scare Muggles away from his property. He wasn't technically a dark wizard, and it usually wasn't something that Aurors would take care of.

But Moody had volunteered them for it. James suspected it was in retaliation for a harmless prank he and Sirius had played on the Head of Aurors. Well, perhaps it hadn't been completely harmless. But really, the seasoned veteran should have been able to handle fifty owls roosting in his office.

Either way, James had been right up next to his best friend for a long time. Too long, really. They were taking turns turning into their Animagus forms and patrolling the area. But still, their close quarters were taking their toll.

James shifted, trying to find a comfortable spot on the hard ground.

"Hey, Prongs?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of fireworks at Moony's party?"

"You really think Moony is going to want fireworks at his going away party?"

"Well, no. But _I_ want fireworks at Moony's going away party. And when have we ever listened to him?"

James chuckled. "True."

A movement from behind the house caused them both to straighten and tighten their holds on their wands, but a moment later, when they saw nothing more, they relaxed.

"How's the proposal coming?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Getting the ring soon. I'm just trying to figure out the right time to do it."

"Sometimes it's best to be spontaneous."

"You weren't spontaneous when you proposed to Lily. You had it all planned out. I remember. You even had detailed drawings for each step of the plan."

James chuckled uncomfortably. "I did. I had a plan, but then it all went to crap."

Sirius threw him a questioning look.

"Lily wasn't feeling well but I talked her into going out to dinner anyway. I was nervous, so I drank, and I didn't realize how much I was drinking until I could barely stand up straight. Then, when I went to propose, I knocked over her glass of wine and dropped the ring. It went rolling across the room, and instead of summoning it like an actual wizard, I went crawling after it. Everything went so terribly wrong that I'm surprised she said yes."

Sirius was laughing quite loudly. James, to protect his dignity, had told his friends an extremely edited version of the story.

"Merlin, Prongs!"  
"Shut up, Pads," he said, shoving him on the shoulder. "There was a point to that story you know."

"Was the point that you are the sorriest git on the face of this earth?"

James sighed. He was going to regret sharing that story with his friend. "No, it was that you can plan and think everything is going to be perfect and then it all falls apart. I wish I would have just proposed spontaneously. It probably would have been ten times better."

Sirius sobered. "I guess you have a point."

The two fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments before Sirius announced he was going to patrol the area again. James nodded, and Sirius transformed into his Animagus form and trotted off to circle the house.

James was left alone with his thoughts, something he rarely enjoyed. He had become accustomed to noise. There had never been a quiet moment at Hogwarts. James was much to blame for that; he was undeniably a chatterbox, but the others had contributed to it too. Now that he was older, his sons provided the unceasing noise. He barely had a moment to think.

He wondered, sometimes, if being an Auror was right for him. During the war, it had seemed perfect. He had always wanted to make the world a better place, to fight against evil. It had been what had drawn him to join the Order of the Phoenix. And right after the war, he had felt like he was making a difference as an Auror. There had been lingering remnants of Death Eaters that he and his fellow Aurors had taken down.

But now, the Death Eaters were either dead, in Azkaban, or in hiding. Sure, there were crops of dark wizard activity every now and then. But James couldn't help but be a bit bored with his job.

He craved action. He and Sirius were alike in that way. Remus was perfectly content with a peaceful life. But James and Sirius wanted to constantly be doing something. Not that they wanted something to happen, of course. They just always desired a cause to fight for.

His attention was forced back to the present when a figure appeared from the treeline and made his way to the house. James stood and gripped his wand tightly. Sirius hadn't returned yet, but James didn't want to wait. They had been trying to catch this wizard for long enough. He didn't want to miss another chance.

He folded the invisibility cloak and shoved it in his rucksack quickly before making his way toward the figure. The man noticed James immediately and stopped.

"Randall Philips?"

The man hesitated before nodding. "You are?"

"I'm James Potter. I'm with the Auror Department."

"The Auror Department?"

Randall Philips had a distinctly suspicious look about him. He was a thin, angular man with wispy blond hair. He had almost black eyes that were set deep in his head and dark bags rested underneath them. He looked incredibly weak, and James reasoned that it would not be terribly hard to bring him in if he resisted.

"Why're you here?" Philips sounded distinctly uneasy, and James readied his wand.

"You are wanted for questioning in cases involving the _Engorgio_ spell around Muggles. I need you to come with me."

It happened quickly. James noticed the flash of danger in the man's eyes half a second before Philips raised his wand. James attempted to shield himself from the jet of red light shooting towards him, but he was not fast enough. His vision went black before he hit the ground.

* * *

"You're an idiot, you know that, Prongs?"

"I wanted to be the one to say that, Sirius."

"Well, you can say it too."

"True. You're an idiot, James Potter."

James slowly opened his eyes to see his best friend and wife glaring at him.

"What…? Where am I?"

"St. Mungo's," Remus said from where he sat, reading. "Oh, and you're an idiot, Prongs."

"Thanks, Moony. I got that." James sat up, wincing as his chest and back hurt. "What happened?"

"You, like the idiot you are, decided to approach Philips by yourself and got knocked unconscious," Sirius said, smirking.

"Philips actually managed to knock me out?" he asked incredulously.

The other three nodded, and he flushed in embarrassment.

It should have been an easy assignment. He was a highly trained Auror, for Merlin's sake. He should not have been taken out by an amateur like Philips.

"Good, Mr. Potter, you're awake," a healer said, striding into James' room. "How do you feel?"

If he were being honest, he felt as though he had been run over by a hippogriff. The back of his head hurt where he had smacked it on the ground, and his chest ached where the curse had hit him.

"I'm feeling fine," James responded, because he wasn't about to show any sort of weakness if he could help it.

The healer looked at him skeptically for a moment. "Of course. However, you have still been badly injured. The curse hit too close to your heart and interfered with its rhythm."

Lily gasped and James' eyes widened. That sounded more serious than he had originally imagined.

"You will be fine, Mr. Potter. Not to worry."

"When can I leave?" James asked.

"A few more hours and we should have you cleared to go home. But you will be on bed rest for three to four days."

"Bed rest!?" he shouted. He started to jump out of bed, but pain shot through his chest and he fell back.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, bed rest."

"Oh, Merlin," Lily muttered.

* * *

"Lily! Can you bring me some crisps?!" James bellowed.

"Sure! Why not? Because I'm not doing _anything_ important!"

This was James' second day on bed rest, and it was safe to say that tensions were high in the Potter house as a result. He had never been one to sit still, yet that was what he was being forced to do. He found himself incredibly irritated, which in turn caused him to pester Lily.

The bedroom door opened, but instead of Lily, he saw Sirius.

"Here," his friend said, tossing a crumpled bag of crisps onto James' lap. He then sat in the chair next to the bed.

"What…" James asked, holding the bag up to inspect it.

"I'd say your wife is rather frustrated with you, Prongsie," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Hm… what was your first clue?"

"I'd say it was when I walked in the front door and she screamed, 'Take my husband these bloody crisps before I murder him!'"

James chuckled uneasily. Lily had the power to make his life miserable. He realized that he should probably tone down the complaining. He didn't want his wife to actually kill him.

"So why didn't you just summon these crisps if you wanted them so badly?"

"Lily took my wand," James said hesitantly, knowing that Sirius would laugh at him.

And, true to form, his friend began to chuckle. "Why did she do that?"

"I may have accidentally summoned a book that hit her head."

The chuckle escalated into full-fledged laughter, and James found himself chuckling along with his friend.

"That's pretty bad, Prongsie."

"Yeah, I guess it is. So what are you doing here? Were you missing me so badly that you couldn't stay away?"

Sirius rolled his eyes before digging around in his pocket and pulling out a small black box. "Picked this up today."

He opened the box to reveal a yellow gold band with an enormous diamond in the center.

James threw his hand across his chest. "Really, Padfoot, I'm flattered. But I'm already married."

Sirius punched his arm. "Git. It's for Zara."

"Oh… you don't love me then?" James pouted dramatically.

"Would you shut up please?" Sirius' face was hardened into a glare, but there was a glint of humor in his eyes.

"My lips are sealed."

"Sure they are," Sirius said, a smile finally cracking his face. "Anyway, I'm taking your advice about being spontaneous. I'm just going to propose when it feels right."

James nodded and gave Sirius two thumbs' up. The other Animagus rolled his eyes. "You can speak now, git."

"Thanks, Pads. And I think that's great."

"Sirius, are you staying for dinner?" Lily called from downstairs.

"Always!" Sirius called back.

"Thank Merlin for that. You can keep her from murdering me."

"Or I could help her."

"But then I'd be dead."

"Really? Is that how that works?"

"Prat. You want your best friend to be dead?"

"Sure. Then I could marry your wife."

"I'll be sure to tell Zara your plan."

"Oh. Right. Zara. Better not then."

* * *

"Dad. Dad. Dad." James felt a finger poking his face. He slowly opened his eyes to see Julian standing in front of him. "Dad."

"What?" James croaked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Will you make me a sandwich?"

James felt like groaning and chuckling at the same time. He wasn't quite sure where his son's obsession with sandwiches came from. But the boy would get a craving and pester everybody nearby until he got what he wanted.

"Can't you make one yourself?"

Julian shook his head, red hair, Lily's hair, falling across his face. "Mummy said I can't go near the knives after I almost chopped Harry's finger off."

James closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. A smirk crossed his face, realizing there was a way out of this. He reached behind him and shook Lily awake.

"Wha…?"

"Your son wants a sandwich, Lils."

Lily flipped over and glared at him through the darkness. "Did you seriously wake me up for that?"

"Yep."

"And you're not capable of making him a sandwich?"

"Bed rest, remember?"

Lily groaned in frustration before throwing the covers off of her. "Merlin, I hope the next time you are injured badly enough to need bed rest, your mouth is hexed shut so you can't speak."

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Mummy," Julian said cheekily.

"No, Lily, it's really not," James said, chuckling.

His wife shot him a death glare before she led her son out of the room and downstairs.

* * *

"All right, Mr. Potter," the healer said as he deposited his wand inside his pocket. "It would seem as though you are completely healed."

"So no more bed rest?"

"No more bed rest."

James was mildly disappointed. At the beginning of his time confined to his bed, he had been incredibly bored and restless. But as time had gone on, he had discovered that he had actually enjoyed it a bit. He had been waited on hand and foot, and whenever something had come up that he had not wanted to handle, he had the perfect excuse to shunt the responsibility onto Lily.

"Can we not tell my wife for another day or two?" James asked. "Only I think she's planning on hexing me as soon as I'm healed."

"Nice try, Potter," Lily said, walking into the room with a full basket of clean laundry in her arms.

"Lily…"

"Here, James. Fold these." She upended the laundry into his lap. James knew it was worthless to try to talk his way out of it. "And after you're done, there are some gnomes wreaking havoc out in the garden. You'll need to take care of those too."

Lily continued the list of all of the things that he would need to do now that he wasn't on bed rest. It was quite a lengthy list.

"Can I have my wand back?" She still had not returned it after the book incident. His tasks would take much longer if he had to do everything without magic.

"No."

James sighed, desperately wishing that Lily had not heard the healer's words.


	9. Chapter 9: The Date

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing! And thanks to Lupinesence and Nimbus Llewelyn for pointing out the chips vs. crisps error.

Standard disclaimer applies.

The soft pop of apparition echoed in the air as Sirius appeared in the alley behind his apartment. He quickly made his way up the stairs and to his apartment door.

Since James had been injured, Sirius had had to pick up a lot of his slack. He had been working almost nonstop the past few days. He was relieved to finally being able to go home, but that was a bit short-lived because he wasn't getting to stay in and sleep.

Zara had insisted on a date tonight. Even though he wanted to spend time with her, he would almost rather stay home and share a few drinks with Remus. But Zara had come up with a solution.

He opened his apartment door to the mess inside. He had never been a neat person; in fact, he had been the messiest Marauder. When he was younger, it had been done in rebellion against his mother and to infuriate Kreacher, their house-elf who had always hated him. It had only gotten worse once he had moved out into his own place. Without anyone to pick up after him, his place had soon fallen into a state of chaos.

He had thought that having Remus live with him would help matters. Not that he expected his friend to pick up after him, but he assumed that the neater Marauder wouldn't be able to stand living in such a mess. He was wrong.

Instead of picking up the mess, Remus added to it. It wasn't the same type of filth that Sirius collected (empty Firewhisky bottles and wrappers) but books and papers. The apartment now included stacks of books that Sirius had never read or even heard of.

At the moment, it was even worse. Remus had a week before he left for a year. He was busily packing everything that he might need.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked as he walked into his apartment and saw Remus bent over a trunk.

"Packing…" Remus said, eyebrow raised as he looked up at Sirius.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I can see that. Why aren't you ready?"

"For what?"

Sirius sighed in exasperation. "The date."

"Oh. I didn't think you were serious about that."

Sirius opened his mouth to respond, but Remus cut him off. "Don't you dare make another stupid pun, Padfoot."

"Stupid pun? Me?" Sirius chuckled. "But _Sirius_ly, I wasn't joking. You need to get ready!"

"I'm not going on this date," Remus said, turning back to his trunk.

Sirius joined him on the floor. "Zara already told her friend that you were coming."

"I don't see how that's my problem."

"Come on, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed. "Live a little!"

Once again, Remus paused in his packing. "Tell me, Padfoot, what is the point? I'm leaving in a week. It's not like I can start any sort of relationship with anybody."

"That's why this works so well! If you don't like her, you can use the excuse of your job to never see her again."

"But why should I go in the first place?"

"Why shouldn't you go?"

Remus glared at him for a moment, but he continued with what he was doing. "I think you know why."

"Really, I don't. It's just one date; it's not like I'm asking you to marry her or anything. But I think you could really like her!"

"Have you met her?"

"Well, no. But Zara says that she's great."

Remus chuckled. "She also thinks _you're_ great, Padfoot, so forgive me if I don't necessarily trust her judgment."

"Oi! That's uncalled for!"

The two friends laughed for a moment before Sirius sobered. "Please, Moony?"

"Is this really _that_ important to you?"

Sirius nodded, because even though he wasn't really sure why, it was. Maybe it was because Remus so rarely went on dates. Or maybe it was because his friend was getting ready to leave for so long. Sirius had never been the sentimental type. But he and Remus had shared the apartment for years and had spent so much time together. He was going to miss his friend. And this date was another opportunity to spend time together before he left.

"Fine," Remus conceded, sighing. "I'll go. But I will blame you if this evening's a disaster."

"Fair enough. Now you should go get changed."

"Why?"

"…Because you're wearing corduroy pants and a jumper…"

"So?"

Sirius looked at his friend in disbelief. "You can't wear corduroy and wool on a first date."

"I've done it before."

"Which is why you don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh yes. _That's_ why I don't have a girlfriend. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a bloody _werewolf_."

Sirius might have chuckled if it hadn't been for the fact that he was still horrified at his friend's fashion decisions. "You're not wearing that. You're going to change."

"No, I'm not."

Sirius groaned in frustration. He wasn't letting the werewolf go out on a date looking like that, but he could tell from his tone of voice that he was digging his heels in. Sirius needed back-up. He waved his wand and a jet of silver light shot out and disappeared out the window.

"I swear to Merlin, Padfoot, if you just sent a Patronus to Prongs telling him to come over here, I will kill you."

* * *

"Merlin, Moony, do you own anything made out of denim?"

Sirius chuckled as James rifled through Remus' wardrobe, looking for appropriate date-clothes for their friend. The werewolf simply sighed as he lay back on the bed.

"I don't think he does, Prongs," Sirius commented.

"Hm, well, I agree with you, Pads. He can't wear corduroy. Do you have jeans he can borrow?"

"I might. They might not fit just right, but they'd be close."

"Now hold on just a second," Remus said, finally sitting up.

"It's all right, Moony. No one will notice if your ankles are showing."

"Hey, I'm not that much shorter than Moony."

"Yeah, you are."

"Enough!" Remus exclaimed. "Merlin, you are acting like two teenage girls."

"No, we're not!"  
"How can you say that?"

"You're trying to pick out what I should wear and obsessing over this date," Remus said. "A date, which I might add, I'm practically being forced to go on."

"It's not like I'm using the Imperius Curse on you, for Merlin's sake!"

"No, you're just pestering me about it to no end."

"Well, of course, I am."

Remus sighed before standing and going to a trunk underneath his window. He opened it and dug through it before emerging with a pair of jeans. "I bought these for my trip. I'll wear them, if only to make you two shut up."

"Great!" Sirius exclaimed. "What shirt should he wear, Prongs?"

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Remus grumbled before heading into the loo to change pants.

"Bit grumpy, isn't he?" James whispered theatrically once their friend had left the room.

Sirius chuckled. "Yeah. I think he's upset with me about this date. No idea why, really."

"Hey, you want to really make him mad?" James asked with the mischievous look in his eye that always spelled trouble for the victim.

Sirius nodded enthusiastically, and James pulled out his wand and shot off a Patronus. He wasn't sure what his friend had in mind. But goading Remus had always been a favorite pastime of theirs.

A minute later, Remus reentered the room, wearing the jeans. He returned to his place on the bed while Sirius and James debated about what shirt the werewolf should wear.

"How many jumpers do you own, Moony?" James asked incredulously. "You do know that you can only wear one at a time, right?"

"And how many broomsticks do _you _own, Prongs? You do know that you can only ride one at a time, right?" Remus responded, smirking.

"Lighten up, Moony," Sirius admonished. "You can't go into a date like this. You'll scare the poor girl away."

Remus opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when they heard a familiar voice.

"James? Where are you?"

"Moony's room!" James called back, ignoring Remus' look of shock.

"You… you called Lily over?"

At that moment, Lily entered the room, holding a shirt. "Why did you want me to bring this over?"

Sirius laughed when he saw which shirt it was. It was a horrid thing, really. It was silky, red and gold paisley print. It was a v-neck and showed too much chest. James had bought it during their seventh year simply for the purpose of infuriating his mother.

Remus' eyes widened and then narrowed. "No."

* * *

"Remus darling, you look handsome," Zara said, kissing the werewolf's cheek.

"Thank you," he replied with a pointed look at Sirius. In the end, despite Sirius and James trying to physically force him into James' shirt, Remus had adamantly refused. Instead, he had donned a simple white button-down shirt.

"What about me?" Sirius asked, pouting.

"You look handsome too, sweetheart," Zara said, laughing. "Remus darling, I want to introduce you to my dear friend, Kate." She gestured to the woman standing in front of them.

"A pleasure to meet you," Remus said politely, holding out his hand.

"Likewise," Kate said and shook the offered hand. She was a rather plain-looking witch, if Sirius were being honest. She was as tall as Zara, who came up to Sirius' shoulder. She had straight mousy brown hair that came down to her shoulders. Her skin was tanned. She did have sky blue eyes, which brightened up her face. But Sirius preferred his chestnut-haired, hazel-eyed girlfriend.

"So, Kate, how do you know Zara?" Remus asked after they all had drinks sitting in front of them.

"We both play for the Holyhead Harpies. I'm a Beater."

"That's quite exciting."

"Are you a fan of Quidditch?"

Remus chuckled. "You can't not be a fan of Quidditch and be friends with James and Sirius."

Kate eyed him for a moment. "Your voice sounds familiar… did you ever commentate the matches at Hogwarts?"

Sirius laughed as Remus' ears turned pink. The werewolf had commentated for exactly three Quidditch matches. The first two had gone extremely well, and the Marauders had been proud of their friend for branching out. The third match, however, had quickly soured when a Slytherin Beater almost hit James with his bat. Remus had uncharacteristically cursed. As the curse word had echoed across the Pitch, the students of Hogwarts had laughed at the foul language used by the normally reserved prefect. The other Marauders had especially found this amusing. McGonagall, however, had not seen the humor in the situation. Remus had received a detention and was forbidden from commentating any other matches.

"Um, yes, for a few matches," Remus said uncertainly, then hurriedly changed the subject. "What House were you in?"

Their conversation continued from there, and Sirius turned to Zara. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. And you?"

"Tired," Sirius admitted. "But glad to be here."

"Me too. I'm so glad that you were able to get a night off." She looked down at her hands, and Sirius knew what she was thinking.

It was a point of contention between the two, his job. She didn't like his hours or the dangers associated with it. But he had never been one to sit back and do nothing. If there was a war to fight, he would do it. Even if the war wasn't truly a war. Just dark wizards wreaking havoc in isolated areas.

"I finished all the paperwork. James is back, so hopefully things will slow down for me for a while."

"But they never seem to slow down for very long, Sirius sweetheart."

"Ah, come on, Zara. I don't want to fight with you."

"This isn't fighting."

Sirius sighed in resignation. They never fought, really. Zara never raised her voice. They were polar opposites when it came to their tempers. Sirius was loud and quick-tempered, while Zara was quiet and rarely angry. She mainly became disappointed, which was harder for Sirius to deal with than anger.

"I showed my mum the ring yesterday," Zara said with a smile, distracting Sirius from his thoughts. "She was impressed."

Sirius looked down at his fiancée's left hand. He had proposed on their last date, and she had happily accepted. He had followed James' advice and proposed when it felt right. It hadn't been a huge production, but it had been perfect, in his opinion.

"Hm, are you impressed too?" Sirius asked with a wink.

"Most definitely," she replied, leaning in for a quick kiss. When she pulled back, her face was more serious.

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"I was wondering… would you be willing to go to a fertility healer with me?" she asked quietly.

He cringed unconsciously. Fertility healers were a tradition among the oldest pureblood families. These healers ensured that a couple would be able to have children, to pass down the purity of their lines.

It was something that his family had done.

"Why?" he asked, his voice just as quiet as Zara's had been.

"I don't foresee there being any problems, sweetheart. I… I just want children. A family. And I want to see what our chances are."

If he were being honest, Sirius would say that he had very little desire to be a father. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy children, because he did. He loved spending time with Harry and Julian. But he didn't think that he would be good at raising his own children. His father had been a horrible example. And while he had not messed up too badly with his nephews, there had been some close calls. He had no idea how to be a father, and he did not want to take the chance of ruining a kid's life like his family had done.

But, looking at Zara, Sirius could see how much it meant to her. "Sure. If that's what you really want."

"It is." Her smile brightened, and she leaned over to kiss him.

* * *

"So, it seemed like you and Kate got on well," Sirius said as he opened the apartment door.

"Hmmm," Remus said, following his roommate inside.

"She liked you." The two Marauders collapsed onto the couch.

"Hmmm."

"Are you going to write her?" Sirius asked, exasperated at his friend's reluctance to talk about the date.

"Yes."

"Merlin, Moony, are all of your responses going to be monosyllabic?"

"Monosyllabic? That's an awfully big word for you, Pads." Remus smirked as Sirius hit him with a pillow.

"Git."

"I know." Remus closed his eyes and was quiet for a moment before continuing. "She seemed nice. I… I quite liked her. But it will be difficult with my job."

Sirius smiled smugly. "See, I knew this date was a good idea. And you said that you were going to write her. Make sure that you do, and when you get back, you can take her out on a date."

"Hmmm."

Sirius chuckled at his friend before he too felt his eyes drifting closed.

"How was Zara?"

"Fine. She's already begun planning the wedding."

"Do you think she'll be as bad as James was?"

They both chuckled at the thought. When James and Lily had gotten engaged, they had all thought that Lily would be the one to obsess over all of the details of the wedding. But it had actually been James. Despite the assumptions that James was easygoing and carefree, he was in reality a careful planner. He liked to have everything decided in advance. He had been the one to start immediately planning every aspect of the wedding, eventually driving them all crazy.

"I don't think anyone could be as bad as James was."

"True. I'm surprised that Lily married him after she experienced that side of him."

After their laughter died, the apartment fell into a comfortable silence. Sirius felt sleep closing in on him, the exhausting week finally catching up with him. But he struggled to stay awake to ask one last question, something he had thought of as Zara had talked about the wedding.

"Hey, Moony?"

It took Remus a moment to respond. "Yeah?"

"Will you be my best man?"

His response came quicker this time. "What?"

"You know, best man. Stand up beside me. Wear a fancy suit. Give a long, boring speech."

"I know what a best man is, thank you. I meant, why me? What about Prongs?"

"I want you both to be my best men. You're both my brothers. I want you both to be beside me. So will you do it?"

When Remus didn't respond, he opened his eyes. He found his friend looking back at him, contemplatively. Sirius raised his eyebrow.

"Of course," the werewolf responded. "I'd be honored."

Sirius smiled and closed his eyes once again, leaning back and letting sleep claim him.


	10. Chapter 10: A Beginning

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Standard disclaimer applies.

The rundown pub was crowded and hot; the voices of the numerous people, loud and obnoxious, rang throughout the small room. The scent of stale beer and body odor filled the air. It was a perfectly horrid place to be. Especially if one were on a blind date.

Or supposed to be on a blind date.

Lydia Derth's first clue as to how this night would go should have been when her date had suggested this pub. He was the friend of a friend's boyfriend, and according to her friend, he was a completely respectable man for Lydia to date.

And, of course, that was the sort of person Lydia should be dating now. The completely respectable type. Nevermind that that sounded completely boring to her.

Lydia pushed her hair out of her eyes and heaved a great sigh. Her date was an hour late, and she had given up hope of his showing up. She stood, but instead of heading towards the door, she made her way to the bar. She had just ordered herself another drink when she looked to her right and saw a face she recognized.

Even though she had been two years above them in school, Lydia would recognize one of the Marauders anywhere. They were iconic, building their reputations from nearly the first moment they had walked into Hogwarts. While other girls had fawned over them, she had always thought them to be incredibly foolish. Potter and Black, especially, had always been conceited and rude, and she had never cared for them.

As she stood there staring at Sirius Black, she felt her frustration rising. She remembered the last time she had seen him. He had flirted shamelessly with her, not willing to believe that she could have no interest in him. She was sure that if she had agreed to a date, he would have been like all the others, flirting and dating and using her before unceremoniously dumping her. She knew that it wasn't quite rational, the frustration that she was feeling. But she was lonely and perhaps a bit tipsy, and she desperately wanted to yell at someone. She had seen the infamous Black temper in action before; surely it would not be too hard to bait him.

"You look miserable," she said, approaching Black.

His glazed eyes didn't leave the glass he had been staring at. His shoulder-length hair fell around his face in a curtain, but Lydia could see an angry expression on his face.

"Tell me, what is one of the famous Marauders doing all alone here in this seedy pub?" she asked.

At that, he looked up at her. His face furrowed in confusion. "Do I know you?"  
"Lydia Derth. I was Lily Potter's healer when her son Julian was born. You flirted with me, and I turned you down."

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Right. I remember you now. Sorry 'bout that."

"Pardon?" Lydia was taken aback by the apology.

"'Bout flirting with you and everything. Wasn't the time or place to do that."

She sat down on the stool next to him, speechless for a second. "Well… thank you, I suppose."

Lydia's drink arrived. While she took a sip, she glanced at Black. Something was off about him. The elegance and arrogance that had unendingly exuded from him during their time at school was missing. Before she even really realized what she was doing, she questioned him about what was wrong.

Black shrugged. "You don't really want to know."

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked," Lydia said, a hard edge to her words.

Black looked at her for a moment before responding. "I was dumped."

Lydia snorted. Of course. Black's ego was bruised. "What happened? Your girlfriend thought you were cheating or something?"

His eyes narrowed. "She was my fiancée, actually. And no, I don't cheat."

"Your fiancée?" Lydia asked in surprise.

"Yep."  
"What happened?" Something about his dejected expression and tone of voice was softening her heart against her will. She felt her earlier frustration slowly dissipating.

Black hesitated for a moment before learning closer to her. "She wanted a family. Kids. Wanted me to go to a healer. To make sure I could give her a family. But the healer said I can't. I'm sterile, apparently." He laughed, but there was no amusement in that sound. "Another reason my mother would have hated me. Can't pass on the glorious Black genes."

Lydia could hear the pain in his voice, and it surprised her. This man sitting in front of her wasn't matching the image of Sirius Black that she had in her head. "So your fiancée dumped you for that?"

Black nodded. "Took her a couple days. We tried to work through it. Told her we could adopt. But it didn't matter."

Lydia drew in a deep breath and felt his pain. She too had been told that she couldn't have children. There were some things that even magic could not fix.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," Black said, taking a large gulp of his drink. "I thought I loved her, you know. But when she told me she didn't want me, it was like I was looking at my mother. And… you probably don't want to hear anymore about me. What about you? What are you doing here?"

And just like that, the vulnerable Black was gone, and the cocky Black had taken his place. Lydia thought about telling him off, but he had just shared something personal with her. Surely, she could do the same.

"Blind date. But he never showed up. He probably took one look at me and left before meeting me," Lydia said, bitterness seeping into her voice.

"Why? You're gorgeous."

"Don't." Lydia said, harshly.

"What?"

"Don't pretend like I'm some great beauty. Don't lie to me."

Lydia had never considered herself pretty. Her hair was a rather boring blond, shoulder-length because that was easiest to take care of. She had freckles everywhere. They were cute on a kid, but not so much on a woman pushing thirty-two. She had never been thin, either. She had struggled with her weight most of her life. She was not overly heavy, but she was still thicker than what was ideal. She knew that most men preferred tall and willowy, and she was the opposite of that.

"I'm not lying," Black said, and something in his voice led her to believe he was being sincere. "I think you're gorgeous."

She was quite taken aback by that. She had never before been called "gorgeous" or "beautiful" or anything else so complimentary.

"Thank you," she said finally, and they both went back to studying their drinks.

"A blind date, huh?" Black said a moment later, when the silence had become deafening.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Yes. A friend tried to set me up. My friends seem to be doing that quite a lot lately." It seemed that Black was not the only one oversharing under the influence of alcohol, and Lydia felt her cheeks reddening.

"Is there a rush?" he asked, eyeing her thoughtfully.

"They seem to think so."

Ever since her thirtieth birthday, her friends, all of whom were married, had begun to set her up with any eligible bachelor within the vicinity. Of course, most of those bachelors were less than desirable. It was incredibly common for witches to get married before their twenty-fifth birthday. But Lydia had chosen to focus on her career.

She loved being a healer, loved helping mothers bring their children into the world. After Hogwarts, she had thrown herself headlong into healer training and had focused all her energy into it. She had left herself no time to date or to start a relationship. And now that she was finally stable in her career, ready for a man to enter her life, it seemed as though all of the quality men were taken.

"You should hold out for someone better. Someone who doesn't…" Black waved his hand, but it seemed that he had lost the words.

"Someone who doesn't pick this nightmare of a pub for a first date?" Lydia finished with a small smirk.

Black nodded and shot her a smile.

She looked at him for a moment. "And you should hold out for someone better too."

"To someone better," Black said, raising his nearly empty glass in a toast.

"To someone better," Lydia responded, her own glass clinking against Black's.

* * *

"Have a good evening, Healer Derth," one of the other healers said, waving his hand.

Lydia returned the wave as she continued walking down the hall. It had been an insanely busy day for her. She had not had a chance to sit down in nearly four hours, and she had barely had ten minutes to eat lunch. Needless to say, her feet were aching, and her stomach was clenching in hunger.

She made her way to the front lobby, but she stopped when she saw an elegant figure in Auror robes leaning against one of the walls near the main door. He looked up, saw her, and began to make his way towards her.

"Mr. Black?"

"Hello, Healer Derth." The arrogant smirk was firmly placed on his face, and she found herself unexpectedly missing the more docile Black she had met in the pub less than a week ago.

"What are you doing here? Do you need medical attention?"

"No. I came to see you."

"Me? Why?"

He suddenly looked a bit more cautious. "I was thinking about the other evening," he said after a pause, "and I felt awfully cad-like for making you listen to me whine about myself. I thought that I could, if you wanted to, take you out for a bite to eat. To show you that I am not a miserable sod."

Lydia hesitated. "Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Black?"

He studied her for a second. "Not if you don't want it to be."

"I would like to go with you," she began, "but as friends."

"Only as friends, then," Black said, and offered her his arm with a wink.

* * *

"So then Filch accuses Prongs- James of putting the catnip in his pants, but James denies it, and Filch can't prove it."

"So James got away with it?" Lydia asked, laughing at the image of the Hogwarts caretaker being attacked by his own cat.

Black nodded as he chuckled.

The two were once again sitting in a pub, but the differences were striking. This pub was much more respectable, and neither one of them was drunk. They sat with sandwiches and Butterbeers in front of them. The conversation thus far had been far more pleasant than what Lydia had imagined it would be.

She was quickly coming to the conclusion that she had been very wrong about Sirius Black.

"I'm glad we were able to do this," she said after a moment. "And I didn't think you were a miserable sod."

Black barked out a laugh. "Glad to hear it."

"Are you doing better?"

A shadow passed across his face for a moment before he pushed it back. "Yes. I'm glad to be rid of her, really. Reminded me too much of my mother."

Lydia could tell that it was false bravado, but she did not want to call him out on it. "And was your mother a pleasant woman?" she teased instead.

Black snorted. "Merlin, no. She was an awful old hag. She hated me."

"Why?" Lydia wasn't surprised by his words. She could still remember very clearly the Howler that Black had received after being sorted into Gryffindor. But she had never understood why his mother had been so irate.

He shifted uncomfortably, and she regretted asking such a personal question. "Sorry. You don't have to answer, if you don't want to."

"No. It's all right." He took a drink before continuing. "I didn't live up to her expectations. She wanted me to be a Muggle-hating, pureblood-obsessed Slytherin." He stopped suddenly, realizing which house she had been a part of.

"Not all Slytherins are like that, you know," Lydia said quietly, used to defending her house.

"I know, and not all Gryffindors are courageous," Black said dangerously, and a moment of charged silence ensued.

"So what's with the nicknames? Prongs?" Lydia asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory.

"That's a Marauder secret, love. Sorry. Can't tell you," he said, winking.

"Really? You can't even give me a hint?" She smiled and leaned closer.

He leaned in until their foreheads were nearly touching. "Nope."

* * *

"Would it seem too date-like for me to say that I had a nice time with you?" Black said, leaning against the wall outside of her apartment.

"Probably," she said after a moment, "but I had a nice time too."

They had talked for hours in that pub. Lydia had genuinely enjoyed their conversation.

"Maybe we can do it again sometime. As friends, of course," Black suggested.

"I would like that," she responded. She didn't have many male friends, and while she had not known him for very long, she could tell that he was someone that she would enjoy being friends with, which was completely unexpected. In the few hours they had spent together, her opinion of him had almost completely changed.

"I will talk to you later then. Good night, Healer Derth."

"Good night, Mr. Black," Lydia said. She entered her apartment and shut the door behind her with a smile on her face.


	11. Chapter 11: Halloween

Author's Note: Sorry for the longer wait! And thank you to everyone who is reading, favoriting, and/or reviewing! I really appreciate all the support.

Nothing that you recognize is mine.

James Potter was in his element. The music. The food. The smiles of his guests. The costumes.

_This is what Halloween should be like_.

Not sitting around in silence, while Sirius liberally poured drinks and they all descended into a less than sober state.

It had been nine years since That Halloween. When a man he had considered a brother betrayed them. When Voldemort had been given the secret and had come into their home to destroy them. When they had defeated him.

This day was filled with much celebration for so many. It represented the anniversary of Voldemort's defeat. For James and his wife and his brothers, it represented freedom from worry. But it also reminded them of the stabbing pain that came with Peter's betrayal.

Even after so many years, they weren't quite over it. It saddened James, and in moments of weakness, he missed Peter. He had spent some of the best years of his life with him, had trusted him completely. So much so that he had placed his family's safety in his hands. It was as though Peter had died That Halloween, and James still mourned the loss of his brother.

Usually, during this holiday that had once been so special to the Marauders, Lily would take the boys out trick-or-treating while James wallowed in his mixed emotions with Sirius and Remus. But this year was different. Remus was not with them, and Sirius was unwillingly to let himself be angry or upset.

_"When was the last time we went all out, huh, Prongs? Remember the Halloween parties we used to throw in the common room? We should do something like that this year."_

And so James, who did not want to be the only miserable one, set out to plan the best Halloween party that he could. And it was quite successful thus far.

They had invited seemingly all of their friends and all of Harry's and Julian's friends. Everyone was dressed up. James was a pirate, Lily wore a tiara, Harry had on James' old Quidditch uniform, and Julian was dressed as Dumbledore. His eight-year-old son looked ridiculous with a long white beard and purple robes, but everyone was enjoying the spectacle. Lily had snapped dozens of pictures of all of her boys.

James moved throughout the room, smiling as his guests enjoyed themselves. He spotted a lone guest next to a table and moved towards her.

"Enjoying yourself, Lydia?"

The woman, who was surprisingly enough dressed as McGonagall, jumped and spun around. "Mr. Pot-"

"James."

"Right. James. Forgive me. I'm used to addressing your friend so formally. He seems to take great pleasure in referring to me as 'Healer Derth.'"

"Yes, but I am not nearly as mental as he is."

Lydia leaned in closer and dropped her voice conspiratorially. "I doubt anyone is nearly as mental as he is, James."

James laughed at his friend's expense.

It had been a couple of weeks since Sirius had met up with Lydia. They had quickly become good friends, although James suspected that Sirius' feelings towards her ran deeper. Sirius was being rather hesitant to talk about it, though. Every time James brought it up, he insisted that they were just friends.

"And yes, I am enjoying myself. This is quite the party."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm enjoying everyone's costumes."

Lydia laughed. "Yes, most of them are quite imaginative. I had a wonderful conversation with your younger son a little bit ago."

James had seen the interaction. It had been hilarious to see "Dumbledore" and "McGonagall" talking in his living room.

"However, I must say that I'm somewhat disappointed in Mr. Black's choice of costume. I had thought he would be a bit more creative than that."

He snickered. Sirius had on a dog collar and pointed black dog ears. It was an ironic costume, but James could see how people who didn't know about his friend's status as an Animagus would be confused.

"Have you seen Sirius?" James asked, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen his friend for a while now.

Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes. "He left me here a few minutes ago. He said that he had something to do. He did not tell me where he was going."

"Ah," he said, as comprehension dawned on him. "You know, I think I was supposed to help him. If you'll excuse me?"

He started to edge away but stopped when he heard his name. The arched eyebrow and stern face reminded him so much of McGonagall that it was unnerving.

"I do hope that what it is that you are doing won't affect me in any way…"

James thought for a moment. "Of course not."

Lydia gave him a small smile. "Good."

He returned the smile and nodded before moving off in search of Sirius.

Every Halloween at Hogwarts, the Marauders had played a massive prank. They were not going to let that tradition die. He knew that that was what Sirius was working on now.

He searched every room in the house, but he did not see him. He went outside to search the backyard when a sniffling sound stopped him. He looked to the right and saw a small figure in shrunken Auror robes sitting on a bench.

"Neville? Are you all right?" James settled himself behind his godson.

The boy nodded, but it was obvious that he was miserable.

James wasn't quite sure what to do. He knew his own boys well enough that he could ask just the right questions to get them to talk to him. But, while he and Lily had tried to spend as much time with Neville as they could, James still did not quite know how to draw the boy out of his shell.

"I like your costume, Neville," he said, hoping that he could distract the boy from whatever thoughts were making him unhappy.

It had the opposite effect. Tears leaked out of the boy's eyes, and he hurriedly wiped them with his sleeve.

"Hey, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me," James said, wrapping an arm around his godson's shoulders.

There was a lengthy pause before Neville spoke, his breathing still uneven. "These… were my… my dad's robes."

James nodded. He had already guessed that. "He would've been very proud to see you wear them, Neville."

The boy stared at the ground. "Do you think so?"

"Of course!" James exclaimed. "He and your mum both would be proud of you."

"I don't think Gran is."  
"Why would you say that?" His voice was concerned.

"Because…" Neville took a deep breath, "because I might be a Squib. And if I am, I won't go to Hogwarts. And even if I'm not, I'm not brave enough to be a Gryffindor like Dad. Or an Auror. Or anything really. I'm a disappointment." He buried his face in his hands as tears came again.

James was shocked. He didn't know what to say. While he gathered his thoughts, he held the boy closer.

He had always known that Augusta Longbottom was a stern woman. She had her faults, but there had never been any doubt in his mind that the older woman loved her grandson, even if the boy wasn't quite what she had been expecting. She rarely showed it, of course, but that was her personality. James had assumed that Neville would grow up knowing that he was loved, but he was less sure of that after the boy's words.

James took a deep gulp of air before speaking. "Have I ever told you about the first time I met you?"

Neville shook his head.

"You were a month old. Your parents brought you over so Aunt Lily and I could meet you and so your parents could meet Harry. You were so tiny. You started to cry, and your dad picked you up, and I'll never forget the look on his face. He was beaming. Your mum too. They loved you so much. And you know what? You didn't have to do a single thing to earn their love. They loved you so much because you were their son. And they would be so proud of you. Even if you are a Squib. Or you aren't in Gryffindor. Or you don't become an Auror. They would be proud of you because of how kind and loyal and wonderful you are."

Neville was blushing. "But Dad was such a great wizard. Gran is always saying so."

"He was," James said. Frank had been one of the best members of the Order. "But Neville, you're not your dad. You're you. And I happen to think you're pretty great. So do Harry and Julian."

The boy gave a small smile, but James saw his lack of tears as a victory.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Sirius said, coming to stand in front of the bench. He must've noticed how red Neville's eyes were or the way James still held onto him tightly, but he wisely didn't say anything.

An idea came to James. "Hey, Neville… how would you like to help me and Sirius with something?"

* * *

"All right, let's spread out. Neville, when I give the signal, you throw the smoke bombs, and Sirius and I will take care of the magic. We'll keep the explosions away from Lily and Lydia."

"Lydia?" Sirius asked.

James nodded. "Yeah, I think she'd kill us."

Sirius thought for a moment. "Yeah, I can see that."

James chuckled. "Okay. Everybody ready?" Two heads nodded. "Very well, men. Let's move out."

The three tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as they headed back into the party and moved to their assigned spots, but James and Sirius did not have the best reputation. James saw more than one person eyeing them suspiciously. Neville was the only one who wasn't garnering extra attention, which worked well for their plan.

With everybody in place, James nodded to Neville, who threw the smoke bombs. The whole room was filled with orange smoke, but before panic could set in, it cleared. James and Sirius levitated the pumpkins they had set aside for this purpose into the room and set them to dancing. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show. Even Lily was smiling, but she still had a suspicious look in her eye as she edged away from the pumpkins. James levitated one closer to her, but the glare she shot him made him quickly pull it back.

After another minute of dancing, he caught Sirius' eye and nodded, and a second later, the pumpkins exploded, sending orange guts flying onto the guests. The reactions were mixed. Almost everyone was smiling and laughing, but there were a few who were obviously not quite as pleased.

James started laughing at the look Lydia was sending Sirius' way. Despite their plan to avoid involving her in the prank, she had still ended up with bits of pumpkin in her hair. He saw Sirius hurriedly trying to explain that it was an accident, but Lydia did not seem to care. She whipped out her wand, and suddenly, every word Sirius said was a bark.

"That was great, Uncle James!" Neville said, bounding up. All trace of the earlier tears was gone, and a huge smile spread across his face.

"You did a wonderful job, Neville," James responded, hugging the boy. He beamed even brighter and then ran off to join Harry and Julian, who were throwing the pumpkin insides at each other.

"James Potter, are you corrupting our godson?" Lily asked, folding her arms.

He chuckled but shook his head. "He's a good kid; I don't think he can be corrupted. He just needed a bit of cheering up."

They watched as Neville threw a bit of pumpkin that hit Harry's mouth.

"I'd say you did a good job of it."

James nodded and smiled. This party had started off as a way to forget about what this day reminded them of. And it had ended just as it should: with everybody smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves.


	12. Chapter 12: The Dursleys

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter has taken so long! I started a full-time job, and I'm going to school full-time. So I don't have a whole lot of free time. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take so long. Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing!

I own nothing.

No one would describe the Dursleys of Number 4 Privet Drive as anything but completely normal. They had a normal house and a normal garden, and Mr. Dursley, Vernon, had a normal job. Their son, Dudley, was a normal sort of boy. Very little ever happened to this normal family that wasn't... well, normal.

Except, of course, one day a year when Mrs. Dursley's sister and her family came to visit.

For the Potters were anything but normal. And Vernon and Petunia despised that.

James and Lily knew this, of course. The Dursleys made no attempt to disguise their dislike of their relatives; their sentiments had become so strong that even Dudley had begun to act rudely towards them.

Still, Lily insisted that these family visits occur. She remembered fondly days gone by in which she and her sister had spent all day in each other's company. James kept insisting that it was unlikely that those days would return, but it did not stop her from making an effort.

James went along with these visits partly because he loved his wife and would do anything to make her happy and partly because he could never miss out on an opportunity to make Vernon (or "The Great Big Walrus," as he was referred to in the Potter household) go as red in the face as possible, which was a particularly easy thing to do.

So it happened that James and Lily and Harry and Julian arrived at the Dursleys' house one spring day. The boys were in their best outfits, looking rather uncomfortable, but Petunia had the habit of criticizing any minor flaw that she saw in the boys. Personally, James thought his wife's sister should be more concerned about her own son's behavior than about a speck of dirt on Harry's shirt, but he was determined not to excite any sort of argument.

"Remember what we told you, boys?" Lily asked as she raised her hand to knock on the front door.

"Talk about broomsticks and Uncle Padfoot's flying motorcycle as much as possible?" Harry asked, dimples showing as he smiled.

Lily shot her husband a glare that would have brought lesser men to their knees, but James simply shrugged. He opened his mouth to reply but was cut short by the door opening.

It never ceased to amaze James how different the two sisters were. Petunia was tall and gangly, with an overly thin face while Lily was short and definitely not heavy but not rail- thin either. Petunia was frowns and disapproval while Lily was smiles and fire in her eyes.

The look on Petunia's face as she answered the door was distinctly sour. She took in the boys' appearance, and her face became more pinched. Lily sighed; James knew that she had spent almost an hour trying to tame their sons' hair. Both of them had inherited his hair's wild tendencies. James had tried to tell her that nothing helped. His father was the inventor of Sleekeazy's, and even he had never been able to come up with a way to tame his son's hair. Still, Lily had persisted, and the results were pretty remarkable, in James' opinion. Julian's auburn hair was remarkably flat, as was Harry's, except for one stubborn section in the back that stuck straight up. But still, they obviously did not meet Petunia's expectations.

James had never been sure why Petunia's approval had always been so important to Lily. James had grown up as an only child. The closest thing he had to a brother was Sirius, but he had never had to work for his approval. They had a connection, a bond, that had formed almost as soon as they had met. Their bond, in fact, ran much deeper than Lily and Petunia's, even though the two women were blood related.

"You should have called," Petunia said abruptly. "Vernon's sister is here."

James bristled at the words. If there had been a change in plans, Petunia should have called them. And Marge, Vernon's sister, was even worse than the Great Big Walrus.

"Would you like us to come back another day?" Lily's tone was patient on the surface, but James could detect the hurt underneath.

A hint of softening flashed in Petunia's eyes before they hardened once again.

"No. Come in. Just make sure that no hint of... you know... is spoken while Marge is in the house." Petunia stepped aside, and the Potters entered.

* * *

If James had to choose between spending a day with a Death Eater and spending a day with Vernon and Marge Dursley, he would choose the former. At least in that situation, he could pull out his wand and do some damage. But in the situation found himself in now, he was seemingly stuck.

The Dursley siblings were two of the most pompous people he had ever met, which was saying something, since he had met Sirius's parents. They laughed and jeered at James' expense. If it hadn't been for Lily's hand on his knee, he probably would have turned them both into pigs. He envied his sons, who had been able to escape from the older Dursleys' presence, although they did have to endure Dudley.

"I do not see your car out there. Where is it?" Marge asked, her cheeks flushed from whatever she had been drinking.

"They don't have a car," Vernon interjected, obviously remembering how a similar conversation had once turned into James describing his racing broom. Obviously, the Muggle did not want a repeat of that.

"No car! I've never heard of something so ridiculous! What, do you just walk everywhere?"

"Sometimes," Lily said, with a hard glance towards James.

"Are you too poor for one?" Marge asked, acting like she had not heard Lily.

"Actually, I make more money than-" James began, determined not to be spoken over by anyone, only to be cut off by a shriek.

" Mummy! Dad!" Dudley came running into the room, tears welling up in his eyes and... Were those hooves in place of his hands?

"Diddykins! What on earth happened?"

Petunia jumped up and rushed over to her son, and Lily followed. The two women ushered the boy out of the room.

James excused himself from the table, although he doubted that the others heard. Vernon was making some sort of excuse to his sister about "those Potter brats and their practical jokes." James made his way to the hallway, where he heard frantic whispers.

"What is this, Lily?"

"It was an accident, Petunia. They didn't mean it."

"They did! They did mean it, Mummy!"

"Oh Dudley, I'm sure Harry and Julian didn't..." Lily said but was cut off by her sister.

"Can you fix this?" Her voice was harsh.

Lily sighed. "James could, I'm sure. He's much better with Transf... This sort of thing."

James stepped into the hallway to offer his assistance. He pulled out his wand, which seemed to startle Dudley, and the boy pulled back. James sighed before muttering a spell, and the hooves were replaced with hands.

Lily clapped her hands and put on the cheeriest smile she could muster. "Well then. No harm done. Shall we go back..." She trailed off as she saw the look on her sister's face.

Petunia stood with an unreadable expression, her arm around her son protectively. "Get out," she bit out.

Lily took a step back, and James could see the hurt and confusion on her face. "What?"

"Get those... Those heathens and leave."

"But Tuney!"

"Don't call me that! Get out!"

* * *

The Potters that entered their house were much more somber than when they had left. The boys looked suitably ashamed, although James suspected it was more for causing the tears in Lily's eyes than for what they had done to Dudley. Lily looked more distraught than he had seen her in a long time. James usually knew what to say, but this time, he was lost for words.

"Boys, go upstairs," Lily said more sharply than what James thought was necessary.

"But Mum-" Harry started to protest, but James stepped in.

"Boys, upstairs." He tried to make his voice as gentle but firm as possible. He had learned the hard way that his sons, especially Harry, did not respond well to yelling.

Harry and Julian stood for a moment longer, eyeing Lily with worry, before making their way upstairs.

"I can't believe it," Lily said after the boys had left the room.

"I know," James said, sighing. "Petunia was overreacting. Like you said, there was no harm do-"

"That's not what I meant," Lily said, giving him the strangest look. "I meant that I can't believe the boys would give Dudley hooves."

James laughed. "Really? I can."

"James!"

"Oh, come on, Lily. It was an accident!"

"But we've talked to them about this, about how they have to keep their tempers in check when we're around Muggles."

"And they've done a great job. But don't you remember how some magic just couldn't be controlled until you got your wand? I'm sure the boys tried."

"I'm not so sure. I mean, they are your sons."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked defensively.

Lily looked at him with anger in her eyes. "This is just like what you and Sirius used to do at school."

"I don't think we ever gave anybody hooves, Lily!"

"No, but you would always play pranks that weren't funny. That were hurtful."

"Do you really think that's what this was? A prank? Lily, our sons know, they _know,_ the importance of the Statute of Secrecy. They know because we've taught them. They'd never play a prank like that in front of Muggles, especially not the Dursleys. Whatever happened today was an accident."

James could see that Lily knew it was true. But he could also see how hurt she was. Hurt that her only sister had practically disowned her as she had thrown her out of her house. He knew that, given some time, Lily would let go, would instead be mad that her sister had called her sons "heathens." But right now, she needed to hurt.

James went over to her and wrapped her in his arms. She shuddered against him, finally giving way to sobs as she clung to him.

Lily was one of the strongest people that he had ever known. She had faced down Voldemort and barely batted an eyelash. She had stood up to bullies and friends alike when needed. But she also was not afraid to cry.

At first, James had thought crying was a weakness. In first year, Sirius had caught Peter crying. The boy had been homesick, but Sirius' response had been to "suck it up." Crying was not manly; crying was weak.

James had been surprised the first time Lily had cried openly in front of him.

"You think bottling everything inside and not showing how you are really feeling is stronger, James?" She had asked.

James had been taken aback by that, but over the years, he had come to see her point of view.

After a few minutes, Lily's sobs quieted. She drew back from him and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. Years of marriage had taught James that she needed some time alone now. "I'm going to go check on the boys, okay?" James said.

She nodded, and James turned and went upstairs. He found both boys sitting on Harry's bed. They paused their conversation, which had looked like an intense one, when James entered the room.

"Is Mum mad at us?" Harry asked as the two boys scooted apart so that he could sit in between them.

"Of course not."

"She sounded pretty mad," Julian said quietly.

James realized that their conversation earlier had been louder than he had thought. He sighed before responding. "Your mum's mad but not at you two."

"But-"

"Julian, how would you feel if Harry told you he never wanted to see you again?"

Julian's eyes widened. "Bad."

He nodded. "Right. That's how Mum is feeling right now. But she's going to be okay."

The boys nodded.

James wished the conversation could end with that, but he knew that it couldn't. "What happened with Dudley?"

Neither boy answered so James tried another question.

"Who gave Dudley hooves?"

"Both of us," the boys said as one.

James sighed because he recognized the solidarity. He and Sirius had done the same thing at school, standing by each other even when only one of them was at fault.

"Listen, boys, you're not in trouble."

"We're not?" Harry asked skeptically.

He chuckled. "Well, you might be in a little bit of trouble. But I'm not mad at you. I just want to know what happened."

The boys shared a glance.

"Dudley was being mean to us," Julian offered, which surprised James because Harry was usually the spokesperson for the two.

"What do you mean?"

This time Harry responded. "He said we were weird."

James figured there was more to the situation than that. Dudley had been known to be cruel to Harry and Julian. James and Lily had always done their best to stop it, but their nephew acted with the full support of his parents. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered why he had allowed his sons to be around their cousin and aunt and uncle at all.

Especially Julian. Harry at least was the same age as Dudley. He wasn't intimidated by the larger boy, and he always had a witty comeback. But Julian was smaller and quieter. He was a Marauder-in-training, but he couldn't stand up for himself the way that his older brother could.

James put an arm around each of his sons and held them close. "So you two turned his hands into hooves?"

"It was an accident, Dad," Harry said defiantly.

He smiled. "I figured it was."

"Did you fix him?" Julian asked.

"I did, but maybe I shouldn't have."

The boys laughed until they heard Lily's voice.

"James Potter, don't encourage them." She stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. The anger and hurt had faded from her eyes. Instead, she looked rather contrite. She crossed the room and sat next to Julian. She wrapped the eight-year-old boy tightly in her arms. "Although, I am pretty impressed with whichever one of you did it. That was some great magic."

All three Potter males looked at Lily with wide eyes.

"What?" Lily shrugged sheepishly. "I'm not saying that I approve. It just seems like maybe Dudley might have deserved it a bit."

The boys still looked in awe at their mother, but James was smirking.

"Lily Potter, I may just turn you into a Marauder yet."


	13. Chapter 13: What Could Have Been

Author's Note: Happy Halloween, everyone! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate all of the kind words.

I own nothing.

As James walked down the Hogwarts hallway, he couldn't help but be disoriented. He supposed that Sirius would be greatly disappointed in him. They had explored nearly every inch of the castle as they had created the map. But he couldn't for the life of him identify where exactly he was.

Ahead of him, he momentarily saw a bit of fabric appearing in mid-air. An invisibility cloak. James remembered well the time it took to master using his father's cloak, how long it took to navigate under it before he could do so without bits of fabric suddenly becoming visible.

He had been following this invisible someone for the past few minutes. He had tried calling out, but he had not gotten a response. When he saw a door open ahead of him, he slipped inside.

The room he and the invisible someone entered was one that James recognized. It was an empty room, one they had used to practice their Animagus transformations. This one in particular had been the one in which he had first successfully transformed in.

The room wasn't empty anymore. In the center sat a large mirror. He could see a strange inscription across the top, but before he could get close enough to read it, the invisible someone removed the cloak.

"Harry?" James asked in surprise but got no response.

But this Harry wasn't his Harry. This Harry was thinner and paler and as James moved to get a better look, he could see a jagged scar on the boy's forehead. His Harry was tan and plumper and the only scar he had was one on his hand where Julian had accidentally stabbed him with a knife. His Harry was always smiling, but this not-his Harry seemed to emanate sadness.

Not-his Harry, who had to be a first year, no older student could be that small, moved toward the mirror with such a hopeful expression on his face that James thought his heart might split in two. He sat down in front of the mirror, and his eyes filled with tears.

James moved to stand behind not-his Harry and was able to read the inscription on the mirror. _The Mirror of Erised._ While he had never encountered this mirror before, he knew (probably from a lecture from Remus) that this mirror showed your heart's desire. James' gaze dropped to the image in the mirror, the image not-his Harry was seeing, and his heart nearly stopped.

The reflection showed not-his Harry sitting down, surrounded by smiling people. Family. James and Lily stood on either side of him, younger than they were now, with a hand on each shoulder. Behind them stood James' parents and Lily's parents and their grandparents and great-grandparents. James could feel his chest tightening as he saw his parents for the first time in so many years.

"Mum. Dad." Not-his Harry murmured with a thick voice.

And even though this wasn't his Harry, James had the urge to move forward and wrap this boy up in his arms and never let go. He moved to do that, but his arms passed right through him.

If James were to ask his Harry, the just-turned-eleven-year-old boy would probably say that the desire of his heart was to finally go to Hogwarts or to play Quidditch professionally. James was sure that if his Harry found the Mirror of Erised, he would not see himself surrounded by family. That didn't have to be his greatest desire because he already had that. His Harry already had his parents to love him.

It struck James then that not-his Harry did not have what his Harry had. He didn't have parents and a brother and two uncles who loved him unconditionally. It explained why the boy was so thin (Lily would never have let anyone living under her roof not be adequately fed) and so pale and so sad.

James and Lily had always been aware of how fortunate they were that Sirius and Remus had been with them that Halloween ten years ago. They had always been grateful that they had not been alone when Voldemort had burst through their front door. Did this not-his Harry represent what would have been? Without the support of their friends, would James and Lily have fallen, leaving their young son to grow up alone?

James could feel his heart breaking. He wanted more than anything to comfort this boy. To tell him how much he was loved. Because this was still Harry, even if it was not his Harry. But before James could figure out a way to communicate that to the boy, another figure appeared in the mirror.

This one was surrounded by a dark fog, his eyes glowed a bright red in his pale face. His black robes seemed to float around him, as if he were not quite real. James could feel cold seeping into his chest; he did not dare turn around.

The voice, when the figure began to speak, was something out of James' nightmares. "Unfortunate, isn't it? This boy's fate? He is weak and alone and he will die." Each word cut through James' mind like glass. He was trembling. He forced himself to focus on the reflection of not-his Harry, to ignore the words. But the figure continued to speak.

"Do not be fooled, Potter, into thinking that your son can escape this boy's fate. I will return, and when I do, I will destroy everything you hold most dear." The figure retreated into the darkness.

* * *

James' eyes flew open, his heart pounded and his shirt drenched with sweat. _A dream. It was just a dream. _A nightmare, really, but not his first. Nightmares had been extremely common the first year after Voldemort's defeat. You couldn't go through a war and experience what he had experienced without there being some sort of repercussions. But there had been peace for so long, and James had been free of nightmares for so long, that he had thought they had left him for good.

It wasn't the first time that not-his Harry had appeared in his dreams. For the past year or so, James had seen the boy struggle with the Dursleys, had seen the joy on his face when he had started at Hogwarts. The dreams always left him with a sort of hollow feeling in his chest. He knew, of course, that this boy wasn't real. It was just a dream. But it felt so real that he couldn't help but despair at the boy's fate.

But this had been the first time that Voldemort had appeared. He had looked different, more ethereal, but James had still recognized the wizard who had almost caused their world to come crashing down.

He shuddered at the thought of dream-Voldemort's words. The wizard's return had been a fear long forgotten. James had been lulled into a sense of complacency; years of normalcy tended to do that. But with the nightmare came a sense of urgency.

He looked to his right and saw Lily peacefully sleeping. He bent down to kiss her forehead before getting out of bed. He picked up his glasses and placed them on his nose before moving out into the hallway. He entered Julian's room first. A small smile spread on his face as he saw his younger son curled into a ball under the covers and heard the soft snores.

He then moved to Harry's room and chuckled softly. His older son was lying spread-eagle, taking up as much of the bed as possible. His covers were half on the bed and half on the floor. His glasses were crooked on his face, and his Hogwarts invitation was in one hand. James could remember falling asleep while staring at his own letter, and the fact that he was around to see his son so thrilled at the prospect of Hogwarts excited James more than he could say. He approached the bed and drew the covers over Harry, taking the boy's glasses and letter and setting them on the side table.

James' heart finally slowed as he looked down at his son. He was safe. Lily and Julian were safe. Sirius and Remus, who had just returned from his year-long job, were safe at their apartment.

But he knew that could change in an instant. Dumbledore had told them that night so many years ago that Voldemort may return. James had not wanted to consider that possibility. Voldemort had terrorized them, haunted and threatened them for years. When the dust had finally settled, James had clung to the peace.

But gazing at his son, the nightmare still fresh in his mind, he realized that complacency would kill them. He made up his mind, standing in the darkness, that he would not sit back and let Voldemort destroy his family. When he returned, James would be ready.


	14. Chapter 14: Platform 9 34

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who favorite, followed, or reviewed the last chapter!

I own nothing. Unfortunately.

Remus heaved a sigh of relief. He had been working on this particular project for weeks. And, finally, he was done. He ran his hand over the spines of the journals in front of him.

They were records of his year-long trip around the world. The only thing, besides the sizable amount of gold now in his bank account, that he had to show for the trip.

Some of them were rather useless, of course. It hadn't taken Remus long to realize that his employer, Mr. Boyden, was less of a magical creatures researcher and more of a wealthy old man who was bored with his sedentary life in London. Mr. Boyden had filled pages upon pages with notes from their various locations and had graciously given all of his journals to Remus at the end. However, Remus had soon realized that his employer was more interested in the mundane than the magical. Remus' personal favorite entry was a three page long description of the giraffes that they had seen on a safari.

Despite the uselessness of Mr. Boyden's journals, Remus himself had collected much valuable information. He was, by no means, the next Newt Scamander, but he now felt as though he had a much better understanding of magical creatures as a whole. He wasn't quite sure how this knowledge would be useful, but he supposed that it would come in handy at some point.

"Moony? You ready to go?" Sirius called.

"Just a minute!" Remus called back.

He had missed his friends more than he could say. It was the longest time he had ever spent away from them. Even during that awful time in the war when he had been with the werewolves, he had still been able to see his friends occasionally.

While he was gone, nothing seemed to have changed. And yet, things were different.

The friendship among the Marauders had survived the year apart remarkably well. They had fallen into the easy camaraderie they had experienced before. But Remus found that his friends themselves had changed. Matured. Especially Sirius.

One of Remus' biggest regrets about the year had been not being there for Sirius after his break-up with Zara. Sirius' brief note about the incident had worried Remus, and Lily's longer letter hadn't done much to alleviate that. Sirius had not written for nearly three months after the incident, and even though Remus knew that his friend was in good hands, he had been anxious about the situation.

But then Sirius had begun writing again, and, while his letters had not been very descriptive, the werewolf had immediately noticed that Lydia was rapidly becoming a prominent fixture in his friend's life.

Remus had been back for a couple of weeks. He hadn't met Lydia officially yet, but from the way Sirius had been talking about her, he knew that his friend was falling in love with her. It seemed, however, that the Animagus was being incredibly patient about the whole thing, not pushing Lydia into a relationship she was not ready for. It was a level of maturity that impressed Remus.

"Seriously, Moony, we're going to be late!"

Remus hauled himself to his feet. "Coming!"

* * *

Platform 9 ¾ was much as Remus remembered it, busy and bursting with families saying their good-byes and loading their excited children onto the train. Images of himself as a student floated through his mind. Had he really been that small once?

"All right, Harry. Do you have everything? Did you pack your clothes? And your books? And-"

"Yes, Mum, I did." Harry fidgeted as he looked around. Remus could tell that the energy on the platform had seeped into the boy. But Lily had her hands on his shoulders, and it wasn't hard to tell that she was fighting back tears.

"Are you sure, love?"

"Lily, since you helped him pack, I am confident that he has everything," James said, intervening. He placed a hand on Lily's arm. "It'll be fine."

The two looked each other in the eye for a second longer than what was probably necessary. Harry shifted uncomfortably. Sirius stepped forward and pulled Harry gently away for his mother.

"Have fun, Harry, okay? Don't listen to what your mum or Moony. Have fun at school. You have a legacy to uphold, you know?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, a smile lighting up his face.

Remus rolled his eyes and stepped closer. "Ignore Padfoot, Harry. He's never been a good influence."

"Oh, come on, Moony! The kid needs to have some fun."

"Yes, Padfoot, but he also needs to focus on school."

Harry looked incredibly amused at his surrogate uncles' bickering. "I can do both, you know!"

"Of course you can," Remus said, smiling. He pulled the boy into a hug after noticing that Lily and James had finished having their moment. "Take care of yourself, all right, Harry?" Remus felt Harry nodding against his chest, and he spent a moment wondering when the boy had gotten to be so tall.

Remus stepped back, allowing Sirius to hug Harry, and the werewolf suddenly realized that he had not seen his own godson. He looked around until he spotted the younger boy leaning up against one of the walls. He was surprised to see the dejected look on the red-head's face.

"Julian?" Remus asked as he sidled up to his godson. "What's going on?"

Julian shrugged.

Remus slung his arm around the boy's thin shoulders. "Is something wrong, Julian?" He could feel the boy tense at the question. He waited a moment. His godson had never excelled at keeping his feelings bottled inside of him.

"I don't want Harry to go to Hogwarts," Julian said so quietly that Remus barely heard him.

But then it made sense to him. For the past week, everything had surrounded Harry and his departure to Hogwarts. They had shopped at Diagon Alley, several times in fact, for Harry. They had all helped pack Harry up. They had thrown a party for Harry.

But Remus suddenly realized how Julian must be feeling. Ever since the younger boy had been born, the two Potters had never been apart for more than a day. They had done everything together. And now, with Harry going away to Hogwarts, they would be separated. The older boy would be going off, experiencing new things, making new friends, while the younger boy would be staying behind.

He tightened his hold on his godson, desperately trying to determine what to say. There had been so many times over the years that he had felt inadequate as a godfather, but he was determined to try his hardest.

"It'll be strange without him, won't it?" Remus asked quietly. Harry brought with him an abundance of energy and sass that he could only have inherited from James and Lily.

Julian nodded. "I don't want him to go," he said again. Remus hurt to hear the pain in his voice. "What if he forgets about me?"

"He could never do that," Remus reassured the boy. He knelt before him, hands on his shoulders. "Listen, Julian, Harry loves you. You're his little brother; nobody can ever replace you. Yes, he's going to go to Hogwarts and have a lot of fun, but it won't be long now before you're at Hogwarts with him. In the meantime, you can have fun here."

"Really?" Julian looked skeptical, as if Harry's leaving would drain all of the fun out of the house.

"Sure!" Remus exclaimed enthusiastically. "You'll have your mum and dad and Uncle Padfoot and me all to yourself."

"I will?" Julian asked, looking excited for the first time this morning.

"Yes, you will. All to yourself."

"Can we plan pranks to play on Harry?" Julian asked, bouncing up and down on his toes.

Remus chuckled. "Of course, we can."

His words were rewarded with a bright smile from his godson. The boy opened his mouth, no doubt to start planning some massive prank, when Harry came over.

"Julian." Harry pulled the boy off to the side and wrapped him in a big hug. The two had a lively conversation in whispers that Remus couldn't quite make out, but he found that he didn't need to. This was, perhaps, a moment that did not need to be intruded upon.

Before long, they were loading Harry's trunk into a compartment. The adults and Julian stood on the platform, waving as the train slowly pulled out of the station.

"Dad?" Julian asked.

Nobody sniggered as James furiously rubbed at his eyes before turning to his younger son.

"Yeah, Julian?"

"Can we send Harry a Howler if he isn't put in Gryffindor?"

Remus sighed. Gryffindor loyalty was apparently hereditary.

Lily opened her mouth, no doubt to tell her son they would support Harry no matter what House he was in, but James beat her to it.

"Mate, we can send Harry a Howler even if he _is _put in Gryffindor."

"Awesome!"

Remus hung back a bit as James, Julian, and Sirius talked animatedly about what to include in the Howler. Lily slowed her pace until she was beside him and threaded her arm through his.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Remus looked at her in confusion. "For what?"

"For whatever you said to Julian. I was so focused on getting Harry ready that I didn't even notice that something was going on with Julian, but as soon as I did, you were there to help him. So thank you." She paused for a moment, looking at him contemplatively. "I'm glad you're back, Remus."

"Me too."

The trip had been an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A wonderful, spectacular opportunity. But for all the excitement it had brought, it paled in comparison to being here with his family.

* * *

_Harry love, I'm sorry. I tried to stop him._

_ HARRY JAMES POTTER! THE GRYFFINDOR LEGACY CONTINUES! SIRIUS AND I-_

_ WOO-HOO! EXCELLENT JOB PICKING GRYFFINDOR, HARRY!_

_ YES, SIRIUS AND I ARE SO PROUD OF YOU! REMUS IS TOO, BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN A HOWLER AND EMBARRASS YOU!_

_ EMBARRASS YOU? HA! WE WOULD NEVER EMBARRASS YOU!_

_ THAT'S RIGHT, HARRY! OH, THIS THING HAS A TIME LIMIT, APPARENTLY. ANYWAY, WE ALL LOVE YOU AND ARE PROUD OF YOU AND CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR ABOUT ALL OF YOUR MARAUDERLY ADVENTURES._

Harry's face was flushed quite red, but it was worth it to see the horrified look on Professor McGonagall's face at his father's last words. This was going to be a good year.


	15. Chapter 15: Trouble at Hogwarts

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! It really means a lot to see that so many people are enjoying this story.

I've had a couple of questions regarding Remus' future love life. I do have special plans for him.

_Lily crept down the hallway. It was after hours, a strictly forbidden time for a student, let alone the Head Girl, to be wandering about. Especially with the political climate at the moment. But she pushed aside the uneasy thoughts as she opened the Hospital Wing door. _

_ She told herself that she was just doing her duty by checking on the Head Boy. She was concerned for him, like any friend would be. It had nothing to do with the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach whenever he smiled at her, and it certainly had nothing to do with the way her heart had stopped when the Bludger had hit him in the head and he had fallen from his broom. _

_ The Hospital Wing was quiet as Lily slowly pushed the door shut behind her. But as she stood for a second, she heard whispers coming from behind curtains on the left. She approached the crack in the curtains and looked through. _

_ She had been expecting to see his friends. It was a widely known fact the Marauders were inseparable. But instead of the three boys, Lily saw an elderly couple._

_ She had seen James' parents each year on Platform 9 ¾. At first, she had thought they were his grandparents, but then Marlene had whispered that that was _the_ Fleamont Potter, James' father who also happened to be the inventor of Sleekeazy's Potion. _

_ Now, Fleamont and Euphemia sat on either side of James' bed, Euphemia holding James' hand. _

_ "We were so worried about you," she said, stroking the bandage wrapped around James' forehead._

_ "I'm fine, Mum. Honestly. You and Dad didn't need to come all this way," James reassured._

_ But Lily could still see the worry on the couple's faces._

* * *

Now, nearly fourteen years later, Lily understood the worry she had seen on her in-law's faces. Her son was in front of her, perfectly fine, she knew. But still, the tendrils of fear curled around her chest. They had relaxed and she could breathe now, but they threatened to tighten at any second.

"Mum? Are you okay?"

The irony of it almost made her chuckle, that her hospitalized son was worried about her.

"She's just worried about you, Harry. We both are," James answered. He sat opposite her, hands twisted in their son's bedsheet.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Really, I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

Lily raised an eyebrow skeptically. Did Harry understand the gravity of the situation? Did he get that he could have died if James and Lily had shown up any later?

"Mum, seriously, everything turned out fine, didn't it?"

This blasé attitude surely had been inherited from James and learned from Sirius, because she would never be able to write off what had happened so easily.

"Only because your mum and I arrived when we did," James said, his voice sharper than what he usually used with either of his sons. But Lily knew what was running through his mind.

Being overwhelmed by a sudden sense that something was wrong. Rushing to the school and learning that Dumbledore was gone. Finding Neville frozen in the Common Room. Overcoming the obstacles meant to stop anyone of malcontent, obstacles that they, and three _first years_, were able to easily surpass. Finding Harry facing off against a professor, Quirrell whom James had always mocked, who had _Voldemort_ on the back of his head.

Lily's entire body shuddered as she pictured her son in the line of fire. Quirrell, on Voldemort's orders, had been vicious. But Lily had pulled Harry out of the way, ordered him to stay safe, but when had anyone with the last name of Potter ever listened to her? As James and Lily had battled the professor, quickly besting him, because even though he had Voldemort on the back of his head, he was no match for two angry Potters, neither had noticed Harry levitating a stone. Before any of them had realized what was happening, the stone was falling on Quirrell's head, killing him.

Lily had been torn between pride at her son's bravery and sorrow that he had killed someone at the tender age of eleven. She had rushed to his side, wrapping her arms around him. She had been in a state of shock, not feeling anything really, while she and James had ushered Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the Hospital Wing.

Now, over an hour later, Lily still felt proud and sorrowful, but a new emotion was quickly rising, one she had never been very good at controlling.

"Just what did you think you were doing, Harry James Potter?" Lily demanded, more than a touch of anger seeping into the words.

Harry looked surprised. "What are you talking about, Mum?"

"What am I talking about? I'm talking about the fact that you purposefully put yourself in that much danger! And you didn't just put yourself in danger, but you also dragged your friends into it too."

"I don't understand why you're mad at me! I saved the Philosopher's Stone."

"You should've let the adults handle it, Harry," James said, even though that was exactly the kind of statement that would have angered James as a teenager.

"You wouldn't listen to me," Harry said, folding his arms petulantly. "I kept trying to tell you that something was wrong, but you wouldn't listen."

Lily sighed, feeling a twinge of maternal guilt. It wasn't that she and James hadn't listened to their son; it wasn't even that they hadn't believed him. But they had placed too much faith in Dumbledore to protect the school and their son. And Harry's claims that something was going on at the school had been strongly colored by what was an apparently inherited conflict.

"No, we didn't believe that Snape was involved," Lily said, watching as her son's face grimaced at the mention of his most hated professor. James, too, struggled to keep his face neutral.

This whole situation would have been so much easier if her oldest friend had not been involved. But Severus had not changed over the years. And Harry looked a bit too much like his father and had a bit too much of his father's insolence for Severus to overlook his parenthood. Lily had built a tentative friendship with him after the war ended, but this year had strained it. She had finally had to end it when Severus had refused to quit making derisive comments about her son. But even though she could not be his friend, could not listen to him talk negatively about her beloved son, she had not believed he would be involved with whatever had been happening at the school.

But Harry hadn't been persuaded. Despite James and Lily reassuring him that everything was under control, to trust Dumbledore, Harry had persistently pursued answers. And while it had all turned out well in the end and Harry had been right on several points, the possibilities of what could have happened haunted Lily.

"We don't blame you for being suspicious of Snape, Harry; he's a greasy git."

"James," Lily reproached.

"He hates me," Harry complained.

"He hates me too, mate," James said.

"Why?"

"Because your father once saved his life," Dumbledore's voice announced his arrival before he parted the curtains and entered.

At any other time, Lily would be glad to see the headmaster, but at this moment, she only felt anger towards him. He had, after all, been the one in charge of ensuring the safety of the students. Not only had he hidden the Stone in the school, but he had also allowed Voldemort to be in close proximity to her son, even if the dark wizard was just a face on the back of a head. Lily wasn't sure how long it would take for her to forgive the old man.

"You saved Snape's life?" Harry asked his father incredulously.

James shrugged sheepishly. It wasn't a topic that James liked to discuss. Lily was more than happy to avoid it, too. The last time it had been brought up, the night had ended early with an awkward tension in the air. Sirius had still denied any wrongdoing, claiming that Snape deserved it, while James had fallen into stony silence. Remus, the one who had been wronged in the situation, had been the most nonchalant about it, shrugging it off. The whole thing had left Lily confused and upset.

She knew that James would not tell Harry the story, not now at least. Not when doing so would reveal a side of Sirius that Harry had not seen before.

Lily shook off the thoughts as Dumbledore sat down in the seat next to her.

"Harry, I must ask you what happened tonight." The headmaster's tone left no room for argument.

As her son quietly explained everything that had happened, Lily moved to sit next to her husband. Her hand slipped in his and squeezed. The returning squeeze helped calm her more than anything else had.

"It'll be all right," James whispered in her ear.

But Lily didn't quite believe him.

"I thought Voldemort was dead, Professor," Harry said, bringing Lily back to her son's conversation.

Dumbledore looked grave, reminding Lily of a night years ago when she and James and their friends had sat in the headmaster's office explaining how they had brought down Voldemort.

"No, Harry, not quite dead."

The words struck a familiar fear in Lily. Ever since that night in Dumbledore's office, she had been haunted by his words. Somehow, the headmaster had known that Voldemort would return. She had had nightmares, especially in those early days of peace, of Voldemort coming back and destroying everything she held dear. She hadn't wanted to believe it possible, but a small part of her was resigned to the fact that it was a possibility. Still, at Hogwarts? With her son in the middle of it all? It was the actualization of her biggest nightmare. And she knew from one look at his face that James felt the same.

Madam Pomfrey entered the room then, and even though Harry assured her that he was fine, the matron shooed the other three occupants out of the room.

"James, Lily."

"Albus."

Lily let James respond because she didn't completely trust herself not to begin yelling at the older man.

"I must apologize for the events that have transpired tonight." There was no doubt about the sincerity of Dumbledore's words, but still, he had allowed her baby to be in danger.

"I don't understand," James said quietly but urgently. "Does this mean Voldemort is back?"

"Not yet, James," Dumbledore responded.

"But soon?" Lily managed to choke out.

The headmaster nodded gravely.

"How?"

Dumbledore considered James' question for a moment before replying. "I have my theories, but I do not yet know."

That wasn't good enough for Lily. If Voldemort returned, she was sure that he would not leave her family alone. He had to be stopped.

They had already defeated him once before, during a time when nobody had thought it possible. Surely, she and James and Sirius and Remus could do it again.


End file.
